Division 

Section 


DT55 

•B8 


\ 


EGYPT 

THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

A Journey  Through  the  Land  of  the  Pharaohs 


CONDUCTED  BY 

JAMES  HENRY  BREASTED,  Ph.D. 

Professor  of  Egyptology  and  Oriental  History 
in  the  University  of  Chicago,  Director  of  Haskell 
Oriental  Museum  of  the  University  of  Chicago, 
Director  of  the  Egyptian  Expedition  of  the 
University  of  Chicago 


UNDERWOOD  & UNDERWOOD 

New  York 

London 

Ottawa.  Kansas 

Toronto,  Canada 

San  Francisco,  California 

Bombay,  India 

Copyright,  1905, 

By  underwood  & UNDERWOOD, 
New  York  and  London 
(entered  at  stationers’  hall) 


All  stereographs  copyrighted 


MAP  SYSTEM 

Patented  in  the  United  States,  August  21,  1900 
Patented  in  Great  Britain,  March  22,  1900 
Patented  in  France,  March  26,  1900.  S.G.D.G. 
Switzerland,  + Patent  21,211 


All  rights  reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States 


CONTENTS 


' PAGE. 

Introduction  11 

The  Story  of  Egypt 17 

The  Itinerary  47 


STANDPOINTS  IN  EGYPT 

1 Pompey’s  Pillar,  the  sailors’  landmark,  and  modern 

Alexandria,  N.  toward  the  sea 53 

2 Cairo,  home  of  the  Arabian  Nights,  greatest  city  of 

Africa,  N.  W.  from  Saladin’s  Citadel  to  Nile....  56 

3 Citadel  and  Mohammed  Ali  Mosque,  beyond  Bab  el- 

Wezir  cemetery,  at  feast  of  Bairam,  Cairo 64 

4 Cairo,  looking  S.  W.  across  city  to  the  great  Pyra- 

mids that  furnished  stone  for  its  buildings 68 

5 A “ship  of  the  Desert”  passing  tombs  of  bygone 

Moslem  rulers  outside  east  wall  of  Cairo 71 

6 Tomb  Mosque  of  Sultan  Kait  Bey  from  the  N.  E. — 

most  beautiful  of  the  tombs  of  Cairo 74 

7 The  prayer-niche  (S.  E.,  towards  Mecca),  and  pulpit 

in  the  tomb  mosque  of  Kait  Bey,  Cairo 76 

8 The  Holy  Carpet  Parade  with  the  Mahmal,  before 

the  departure  of  the  pilgrims  for  Mecca,  Cairo....  78 

9 The  harem  windows  in  the  court  of  a wealthy 

Cairene’s  house  84 


4 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

10  Diorite  statue  of  King  Khafre,  builder  of  the 

Second  Pyramid  at  Gizeh,  Cairo 87 

11  The  famous  wooden  statue  called  the  Shekh  el- 

Beled,  in  the  Museum,  Cairo 90 

12  The  body  of  Sethos  I who  lived  in  the  middle  of 

the  fourteenth  century,  B.  C.,  Museum  of  Cairo  94 

13  The  magnificent  jewelry  of  the  Pharaohs  (Queen 

Ahhotep,  seventeenth  century  B.  C.) ; Cairo 
Museum  97 

14  The  stela  of  Amenophis  III,  raised  by  Merneptah  and 

bearing  the  earliest  mention  of  Israel 99 

15  The  great  Nile  Bridge  at  Cairo  open  for  the  passage 

of  the  daily  fleet  of  cargo  boats 102 

16  The  road  to  the  Pyramids,  westward  toward  Gizeh 

from  near  Cairo 104 

17  The  great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh,  a tomb  of  5,000  years 

ago,  from  the  S.  E 109 

18  King  Khufu’s  tomb,  the  great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh, 

and  the  sepulchers  of  his  nobles  (from  N.  W.) ....  Ill 

19  Looking  up  the  N.  E.  corner  of  the  Great  Pyramid 

where  tourists  ascend 115 

20  View  from  the  summit  of  the  Great  Pyramid  E.  over 

the  Valley  of  the  Nile 118 

21  Second  Pyramid  with  crown  of  original  casing,  S.  W. 

from  summit  of  Great  Pyramid 122 

22  Looking  down  the  S.  W.  corner  of  the  Great  Pyra- 

mid upon  the  mastabas  of  Khufu’s  lords 125 

23  Entrance  to  the  Great  Pyramid,  the  sepulcher  of 

Khufu  (in  north  face),  seen  from  below 128 

24  Looking  down  the  main  passage  leading  to  Khufu’s 

sepulcher  within  the  Great  Pyramid 130 


CONTENTS. 


5 


PAGE. 

25  Khufu’s  sarcophagus,  broken  by  robbers,  in  the  sepul- 

cher-chamber of  the  Great  Pyramid 132 

26  Ruins  of  the  granite  temple  by  the  Sphinx,  with  the 

Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh  on  the  N.  W 137 

27  The  great  Sphinx  of  Gizeh,  the  largest  royal  por- 

trait ever  hewn 140 

28  Statue  of  Ramses  II,  an  embellishment  of  his  now 

vanished  temple  at  Memphis 144 

29  The  earliest  occupation  of  men  and  the  first  attempt 

at  a pyramid,  Sakkarah 147 

30  Quarry  chambers  of  Masara  whence  came  the  blocks 

for  the  Great  Pyramid 151 

31  The  sole  survivor  of  a great  city,  the  obelisk  of 

Heliopolis  152 

32  The  brick  store-chambers  of  Pithom,  the  city  built 

by  Hebrew  bondsmen  (looking  north) 156 

33  Dahabiyehs  on  the  river  ready  for  the  journey  to  the 

upper  Nile  158 

34  Watching  a sand  whirlwind  from  top  of  Hawara 

Pyramid  (view  S.  E.  to  pyramid  of  Illahun) 161 

35  An  Egyptian  Shaduf,  the  oldest  of  well-sweeps,  lift- 

ing the  Nile  waters  to  the  thirsty  fields 167 

36  An  Egyptian  Sakieh  or  ox-driven  bucket  pump,  rais- 

ing water  for  irrigation 168 

37  “Thou  shalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  when  he  treadeth 

out  the  corn.”  Threshing  in  modern  Egypt 169 

38  The  winnowing  of  the  grain  after  threshing — field 

work  of  peasant  laborers 171 

39  Brick-making,  the  task  of  the  Hebrews  as  seen  to- 

day among  the  ruins  of  Crocodilopolis 172 


6 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

40  The  tomb  of  a feudal  lord  at  Benihasan,  built  about 

1900  B.  C 176 

41  Cliff-tombs  of  the  lords  of  Assiut,  the  King-makers 

of  4,000  years  ago 18i 

42  Assiut,  the  largest  city  of  Upper  Egypt,  seen  from 

the  cliffs  at  the  west 184 

43  The  temple  of  Sethos  I,  view  S.  W.  to  its  dismantled 

front,  Abydos  187 

44  Columns  of  the  great  hypostyle  temple  of  Sethos  I at 

Abydos  191 

45  Sethos  I and  his  son  Ramses  II  worshipping  their 

ancestors,  in  Sethos’  great  temple,  Abydos 194 

46  The  beautiful  temple  of  Hathor  at  Denderah,  view  S. 

over  remains  of  a vanished  city 197 

47  Across  the  plain  of  Thebes  and  past  the  Memnon 

statues,  from  the  western  cliffs  towards  Luxor....  202 

48  Magnificent  desolation,  the  deserted  temple  of  Luxor, 

S.  W.  from  top  of  the  first  pylon 207 

49  The  Moslem  mosque  in  the  court  of  Ramses  II,  at 

Luxor  Temple,  Thebes 211 

50  The  most  beautiful  colonnade  in  Egypt;  S.  across 

court  of  Amenophis  III,  Luxor  Temple,  Thebes 213 

51  The  obelisk  of  Ramses  II  and  front  of  the  Luxor 

Temple  (view  to  S.  W.),  Thebes 215 

52  Grand  Avenue  of  Rams,  one  of  the  southern  ap- 

proaches to  the  temple  of  Karnak,  Thebes 218 

53  The  entire  length  of  the  gigantic  temple  of  Amon 

at  Karnak  (view  W.),  Thebes 220 

54  Excavating  the  famous  avenue  of  rams,  E.  to  temple 

of  Karnak,  Thebes 222 


CONTENTS 


7 


PAGE. 

55  Avenue  of  sacred  rams,  leading  from  river  to  W. 

entrance  (after  excavation);  Karnak,  Thebes....  224 

56  The  great  court  of  the  Karnak  temple  seen  (S.  E.) 

from  the  top  of  the  first  pylon,  Thebes 226 

57  The  famous  colonnade  of  the  great  Hypostyle  Hall 

in  the  temple  of  Karnak,  Thebes 231 

58  Looking  across  the  Sacred  Lake  (N.  N.  W.)  to  the 

great  Hypostyle  Hall  of  Karnak,  Thebes 233 

59  Middle  aisle  of  the  great  Hypostyle  and  the  obelisk 

of  Thutmosis  I,  Karnak,  Thebes 236 

60  The  tallest  obelisk  in  Egypt,  erected  by  Queen 

Makere  (N.)  in  Karnak  temple  at  Thebes 239 

(53)  (Return)  242 

61  Plants  and  animals  brought  to  Egypt  from  the 

Pharaoh’s  campaigns  in  Syria,  Karnak,  Thebes. . 244 

62  War  reliefs  of  Sethos  I on  N.  wall  outside  the  Hypo- 

style of  Karnak  temple,  Thebes 246 

63  Records  of  the  campaign  of  Shishak,  who  captured 

Jerusalem,  relief  at  Karnak,  Thebes 248 

64  Colossal  “Memnon”  statues  at  Thebes;  the  farther 

one  used  to  emit  a cry  at  sunrise 251 

65  The  Ramesseum,  mortuary  temple  of  Ramses  II, 

N.  W.  towards  tombs  in  the  cliffs,  Thebes 254 

66  From  roof  of  the  Ramesseum,  past  the  fallen  colossus 

of  Ramses  II,  S.  E.  over  plain  of  Thebes 258 

67  Plain  of  Thebes  and  the  Colossi  of  Memnon,  seen  at 

the  S.  from  roof  of  the  Ramesseum 261 

68  Looking  S.  over  Theban  plain  and  Temples  of  Medi- 

net  Habu  from  cemetery  of  Abd  el-Kurna 263 


8 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

69  Painted  tomb  chamber  of  Prince  Sen-Nofer,  hewn  in 

rock  of  the  western  cliffs,  Thebes 265 

70  Buried  for  ages — colonnaded  terraces  of  Queen 

Makere’s  temple,  Der  el-Bahri  (N.),  Thebes 268 

71  Queen  Makere’s  expedition  to  E.  Africa,  sixteenth 

century  B.  C.,  reliefs  at  Der  el-Bahri,  Thebes 271 

72  From  the  high  cliffs  above  Der  el-Bahri  S.  E.  across 

the  plain  to  Luxor  and  the  Nile,  Thebes 274 

73  Down  the  Nile  (N.  E.)  across  the  western  cliffs 

of  Thebes  277 

74  Valley  of  the  Kings’  tombs  where  the  great  conquer- 

ors of  Egypt  were  buried 279 

75  Descending  gallery  in  tomb  of  Sethos  I,  Valley  of 

the  Kings’  Tombs,  Thebes 282 

(65)  (Return)  284 

76  Looking  north  to  the  mortuary  temple  of  Sethos  I, 

at  Thebes  \ 287 

77  The  first  pylon  of  Ramses  IIFs  great  mortuary 

temple  at  Medinet  Habu  (view  N.),  Thebes 291 

78  The  hunting  of  the  wild  bull,  depicted  on  temple  wall 

of  Ramses  III,  Medinet  Habu,  Thebes 294 

79  Scenes  of  battle  and  the  chase  on  wall  of  temple  of 

Ramses  III,  Medinet  Habu,  Thebes 295 

80  Walled  city  of  El  Kab,  ancient  capital  of  Upper 

Egypt,  S.  W.  from  the  door  of  a cliff-tomb 298 

81  The  Pylon  and  Court  of  the  temple  of  Horus  at 

Edfu  (looking  E.  to  the  Nile) 301 

82  The  wonderfully  preserved  temple  of  Edfu,  seen 

(N.)  from  top  of  first  pylon 303 

83  The  Holy  of  Holies  and  granite  shrine  for  the 

divine  image,  temple  of  Edfu 30C 


CONTENTS 


9 


PAGE. 

84  Assuan  and  the  island  of  Elephantine  (S.)  from  the 

western  cliffs  of  the  cemetery 308 

85  Tomb  of  Harkhuf,  a frontier  baron  in  the  days  of 

the  pyramid  builders,  Assuan 310 

86  The  Nilometer  (measurer  of  inundations),  Island 

of  Elephantine,  first  cataract 313 

87  Ninety-two  foot  obelisk  still  lying  in  the  Assuan 

granite  quarry  at  the  first  cataract 315 

88  Remarkable  inscription  of  a Seven  Years’  Famine, 

on  the  Island  of  Sehel  (first  cataract) 318 

89  The  templed  island  of  Philae,  the  “Pearl  of  Egypt,” 

now  doomed  to  destruction  (view  S.) 321 

90  Looking  down  (N.  E.)  upon  the  island  of  Philas 

and  its  temples  from  the  island  of  Bigeh 323 

91  The  great  Assuan  Dam,  N.  W.  from  the  first  pylon 

of  the  Philae  Temple 326 

92  The  Nubian  temple  of  Kalabsheh,  built  in  the  days 

of  the  Roman  emperor  Augustus  (view  E.) 328 

93  Kasr  Ibrim  (the  fort  of  Ibrim)  and  a Nile  vista  to 

the  N.  N.  E.  in  lower  Nubia 330 

94  The  grotto  temple  of  Abu  Simbel  seen  N.  W.  from  a 

boat  on  the  Nile 333 

95  The  sixty-five  foot  portrait  statues  of  Ramses  II  be- 

fore rock-hewn  temple  of  Abu  Simbel 334 

96  Looking  up  river  across  the  front  of  Abu  Simbel 

temple,  from  the  sand-drift  at  north 337 

97  Interior  of  the  rock-hewn  temple  of  Abu  Simbel — 

Holy  of  Holies  in  rear  and  statues  of  gods 340 

98  Second  cataract  of  the  Nile  from  the  S.  W.,  the 

first  obstruction  to  navigation  for  1,000  miles 842 


10 


CONTENTS 


PAGE. 

99  The  tomb  of  the  Mahdi  at  Omdurman.  (Kerreri 

hills  at  left,  scene  of  Kitchener’s  victory).  Sudan.  344 

100  Governor’s  palace,  and  armored  steamer  leaving 

Khartum  for  Fashoda  and  the  Blue  Nile,  Sudan..  348 


MAPS  AND  PLANS 

All  (except  the  last)  bound  in  booklet  at  the  end  of  this 
volume. 

1 Eastern  Hemisphere. 

2 General  Map  of  Ancient  Egypt. 

3 The  Nile  from  the  Mediterranean  to  Khartum. 

4 Environs  of  Cairo. 

5 Pyramids  of  Gizeh. 

6 The  Nile  from  Cairo  to  Feshn,  including  the  Fayum  and 

the  Pyramids. 

7 Temple  of  Sethos  I at  Abydos. 

8 District  of  Thebes. 

9 West  Shore,  Necropolis  of  Thebes. 

10  The  Temple  of  Luxor. 

11  Plan  of  Karnak. 

12  The  Great  Temple  of  Ammon  at  Karnak. 

13  Ramesseum. 

14  Temple  of  Der  el-Bahri. 

15  Medinet  Habu. 

16  Temple  of  Horus  at  Edfu. 

17  Environs  of  Assuan. 

18  The  Island  of  Philae. 

19  Abu  Simbel. 

20  Omdurman  and  Khartum. 

Plan  of  the  interior  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  page  129 


INTRODUCTION 


In  connection  with  the  duties  of  university  teaching 
and  its  modem  obligation  to  carry  on  constant  research, 
it  has  also  been  my  privilege  during  the  last  ten  years, 
to  begin  the  work  of  making  a public  wider  than  that 
of  the  university  lecture-room,  acquainted  with  the  life, 
customs,  history,  and  monuments  of  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians. In  this  latter  attempt  I have  met  with  a number 
of  different  plans  for  private  study,  for  class  study,  for 
lecture  courses  and  the  like,  among  women’s  clubs,  ex- 
tension centres,  literary  societies,  and  similar  organiza- 
tions. I have  been  and  am  still  constantly  appealed  to 
for  outline  studies  and  lists  of  books,  which  will  furnish 
the  individual  student  and  the  reading  class  or  study- 
circle  with  the  material  necessary  for  their  study. 
Heretofore  I have  never  been  able  to  find  any  books  or 
material  which  could  furnish  graphic  reproductions  of 
the  remains  still  surviving  in  the  ancient  lands  of  the 
East,  or  of  those  lands  and  their  people  as  they  are  to- 
day, coupled  with  an  adequate  account  of  their  long 
history,  of  their  life  and  customs. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  peculiar  satisfaction  that  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  this  system  of  stay-at-home 
travel,  the  great  merits  of  which  are  but  beginning  to 
be  appreciated.  By  its  use  an  acquaintance  can  be 
gained,  here  at  home,  with  the  wonders  of  the  Nile 


12 


INTRODUCTION 


Valley,  which  is  quite  comparable  with  that  obtained 
by  traveling  there.  In  my  judgment  there  is  no  other 
existent  means  by  which  this  result  can  be  accom- 
plished. The  map  system,  simple,  ingenious,  and 
pedagogically  sound,  first  furnishes  a clear  idea  of 
locality  in  every  case;  and  with  this  in  mind,  these 
superb  stereographs  furnish  the  traveler,  while  sitting 
in  his  own  room,  a vivid  prospect  as  through  an  open 
window,  looking  out  upon  scene  after  scene,  from  one 
hundred  carefully  selected  points  of  view  along  the 
Nile.  By  this  means,  then,  the  joys  of  travel  can  be 
extended  to  that  large  class  of  our  people,  who  thirst 
for  an  acquaintance  with  the  distant  lands  of  other 
ages,  but  are  prevented  by  the  expense  involved,  or  by 
the  responsibilities  of  home,  business  or  profession. 

It  was  with  this  conviction,  that  I have  undertaken, 
in  the  midst  of  a heavy  burden  of  numerous  other 
duties,  the  task  of  standing  with  the  traveler  at  every 
point  of  view,  to  be  his  cicerone,  and  to  furnish  him 
with  the  indispensable  wealth  of  associations,  of  histor- 
ical incident,  or  archaeological  detail  suggested  by  the 
prospect  spread  out  before  him.  Nowhere  in  the 
ancient  world  have  its  great  monuments  been  preserved 
in  such  numbers,  or  so  completely  as  in  the  Nile  Valley, 
and  nowhere,  therefore,  is  the  visitor  carried  back  into 
the  remote  past  so  vividly  as  among  the  myriad  monu- 
ments that  rise  along  the  shores  of  the  Nile.  Realizing, 
then, that  this  land  of  monumental  marvels,  so  rich  in  the 
works  of  men,  has  in  the  past  been  closed  to  the  average 


INTRODUCTION 


13 


man,  and  accessible  only  to  him  whose  means  and  leisure 
permitted  him  to  make  the  journey  of  the  Nile,  I have 
here  endeavored  to  work  out  this  system  of  travel 
for  Egypt.  It  enables  the  great  host  of  those  whose 
constant  dream  of  travel  has  heretofore  remained  un- 
realized to  stand  under  the  shadow  of  the  greatest  arch- 
itectural and  other  monumental  works  of  the  ancient 
Orient  and  to  feel  with  the  sense  of  substantial  reality 
that  these  venerable  structures  are  actually  rising  yon- 
der before  the  beholder’s  eye.  These  experiences  in  the 
presence  of  all  the  myriad  witnesses  of  a mighty  past, 
can  not  only  be  a source  of  untold  pleasure  and  in- 
struction, but  also,  can  enormously  expand  the  horizon 
of  daily  life,  more  truly  making  the  beholder  a “citizen 
of  the  world”  than  he  can  ever  hope  to  be  without 
actually  visiting  these  distant  lands. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  following  pages,  I have  con- 
stantly had  my  eyes  within  the  hood  of  the  stereoscope, 
and  I cannot  forbear  to  express  here  the  growing  sur- 
prise and  delight,  with  which  I observed  as  the  work 
proceeded,  that  it  became  more  and  more  easy  to  speak 
of  the  prospect  revealed  in  the  instrument,  as  one  actu- 
ally spread  out  before  me.  The  surprising  depth  and 
atmosphere  with  which  the  scientifically  constructed 
instrument  interpreted  what  were  actually  but  bits  of 
paper  and  pasteboard,  were  a revelation ; indeed,  I con- 
stantly sat  by  an  open  window  looking  out  ’ over  the 
actual  ruins  of  the  Nile  Valley,  which  I could  study, 
one  after  another,  at  will.  To  the  believing  beholder 


14 


INTRODUCTION 


there  are  precious  moments,  when  the  mind  is  perfectly 
convinced  of  the  reality  of  the  scene  before  him,  and 
such  moments,  persistently  sought  and  repeated,  come 
more  and  more  easily  as  one  accustoms  himself  to  the 
instrument,  until  afterward  the  mind  looks  back  upon 
it  all,  with  essentially  all  the  sensations  of  having  seen 
the  reality ; and  an  actual  visit  to  the  place  can  do  little 
more.  Moreover,  by  the  repeated  use  of  the  stereo- 
graph, the  scene  can  be  often  reimpressed  upon  the 
mind’s  eye,  and  herein  lies  one  of  the  greatest  advan- 
tages of  this  system  of  stay-at-home  travel,  that  the  trip 
may  be  made  as  often  as  one  likes.  Much  more  might 
be  said  upon  this  subject  of  the  possibilities  of  the 
stereoscope,  but  I can  only  refer  the  reader  to  such 
opinions  as  that  of  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes,*  to  the 
very  useful  literature  on  the  subject  issued  by  the  pub- 
lishers, and  to  my  own  remarks  in  connection  with  the 
Itinerary  (pages  49-51). 

It  should,  also,  be  said  here,  that  the  selection  of  the 
stereographed  scenes  employed,  was  facilitated  by  the 
dispatch  of  a special  artist  in  the  employ  of  the  publish- 
ers, to  make  on  the  spot  a large  list  of  stereographs, 
indicated  by  the  author,  who  located  the  position  for  each 
stereograph  on  maps  and  plans,  the  list  being  accom- 
panied by  full  instructions.  Were  it  possible  to  elim- 
inate the  element  of  accident  in  the  production  of  such 


•Oliver  Wendell  Holmes  contributed  two  articles  on  tbe  Stereoscope 
and  Stereoscopic  Photographs  to  The  Atlantic  Monthly.  These  articles 
have  been  republished  by  Underwood  & Underwood,  and  will  be  sent  on 
request 


INTRODUCTION 


15 


a series  of  stereographs,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in 
placing  in  the  author’s  hands  by  this  method,  all  and 
exactly  the  stereographs  wanted.  Happily  there  are  in 
this  series  only  three  cases  in  which  the  author  would 
have  made  a different  selection  had  accident  not  pre- 
vented. The  selection  of  the  places  to  be  visited  and 
studied  by  this  system  has  not  been  an  easy  task,  and 
another  familiar  with  the  country  and  its  monuments 
might  have  made  a different  choice  in  some  cases.  The 
number  of  considerations  involved  in  making  a repre- 
sentative selection  is  not  small,  and  every  effort  has 
been  put  forth  to  be  fair  to  all  these  considerations. 

Should  this  book  fall  into  the  hands  of  an  oriental 
scholar,  let  him  be  assured  that  the  orthography  of  the 
Arabic  proper  names  is  as  unsatisfying  to  the  author 
as  to  him.  It  should,  however,  be  remembered  that 
this  book  is  intended  for  practical  purposes,  in  the  hands 
of  readers  who  know  nothing  about  and  care  less  for 
the  intricacies  of  Arabic  orthography, — readers  to 
whom  the  complications  of  a full  and  correct  system  of 
transliteration,  however  carefully  explained,  would 
mean  nothing,  and  cause  only  vexation  and  confusion. 
In  the  reproduction  of  such  names,  the  simplest  possi- 
ble form  has  been  used,  with  practically  no  diacritical 
marks.  If  the  reader  unfamiliar  with  Arabic  will  pro- 
nounce all  the  vowels  as  in  Italian,  or  the  continental 
languages,  they  will  be  nearly  enough  correct  for  his 
purposes.  The  necessity  of  maintaining  the  sense  of 
location  is  sufficient  reason  for  the  colloquial  tone 


16 


INTRODUCTION 


adopted  in  these  rambles.  This  also  will  explain  the 
insistent  repetition  of  the  bearings  and  orientation  of 
each  position,  a repetition  which  experience  has  shown 
to  be  essential  and  useful. 

The  author  wishes  here  to  acknowledge  gre^t  obliga- 
tion to  Herr  Karl  Baedeker  for  permission  to  use  the 
admirable  maps  and  plans  from  his  unsurpassed  guide- 
book of  Egypt.  With  the  exception  of  the  first  three, 
all  the  maps  and  plans  in  the  accompanying  series 
are  reproduced  from  his  “Egypt.”  The  large  map  of 
Egypt  (No.  3)  was  drawn  in  Berlin  under  the  author’s 
supervision,  from  the  atlas  of  ancient  Egypt,  issued  by 
the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund. 

James  Henry  Breasted. 

The  University  of  Chicago,  April  1,  1905. 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


There  is  no  people  whose  career  can  be  followed 
through  so  long  a period  as  that  of  the  people  of  Egypt. 
The  civilization  of  Babylon  may  be  older,  though  that 
question  is  still  under  debate,  but  Babylonia  so  early 
disappeared  as  a nation,  that  the  length  of  its  career  is 
shorter  by  many  centuries  than  that  of  Egypt.  Egypt 
still  survives  with  a people  of  the  same  mental  charac- 
teristics and  the  same  physical  peculiarities  as  we  find 
in  those  subjects  of  the  Pharaohs  who  built  the  pyra- 
mids. They  have  changed  their  language  once  and 
their  religion  twice,  but  they  are  still  Egyptians  as  of 
old,  pursuing  the  same  arts,  following  the  same  occu- 
pations, holding  the  same  superstitions,  living  in  the 
same  houses,  using  the  same  medicines,  and  employing 
the  same  devices  for  irrigation  and  cultivation  of  the 
fields,  which  the  student  of  the  monuments  finds  among 
their  ancestors  five  thousand  years  ago.  The  amazing 
persistence  of  the  chief  elements  of  their  civilization, 
the  survival  of  these  things  into  our  own  times,  is  due 
in  large  measure,  if  not  solely,  to  the  very  unusual 
natural  conditions  under  which  they  lived.  We  must 
therefore  note  briefly  the  geography  and  climate  of 
the  Nile  valley,  if  we  would  at  all  understand  the  mar- 
velous people  who  so  early  found  a home  there. 

The  whole  northern  end  of  the  African  continent 
is  traversed  from  the  Atlantic  on  the  west  to  the  Red 
Sea  on  the  east  by  a vast  desert,  which  is  continued 
eastward  through  Arabia  and  far  into  the  heart  of 
Asia  (Map  1).  This  desert  of  two  continents  is 
crossed  by  two  great  river  valleys : in  Africa  by  that 
of  the  Nile;  in  Asia  by  the  Euphrates  valley,  supple- 
mented by  that  of  the  Tigris.  These  two  great  river 
valleys,  one  in  Africa,  the  other  in  Asia,  formed  the 
home  of  two  remarkable  peoples,  to  whom  the  classic 
world  of  Europe,  and  through  it  we  ourselves,  owe  the 


18 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


fundamentals  of  civilization,  which  were  there  devel- 
oped from  the  most  primitive  beginnings  to  a high 
degree  of  perfection,  and  then  transmitted  to  the  Euro- 
pean nations  in  the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean.  He 
who  would  know  the  story  of  man,  and  particularly  its 
first  chapter,  will  find  it  necessary  to  delve  long  and 
patiently  among  the  surviving  remains  in  these  two 
river  valleys,  for  there  is  the  earliest  human  culture, 
which  we  are  able  to  date  with  approximate  accuracy, 
as  compared  with  the  vast  range  of  uncertainty  in  the 
date  of  the  remains  of  early  man,  found  elsewhere  by 
the  anthropologist,  like  the  relics  of  the  cave-dwellers  of 
prehistoric  Europe.  We  are  to  journey  together 
through  one  of  these  ancient  cradles  of  civilization, 
and  I repeat,  we  must  know,  before  we  enter  upon  the 
journey,  something  about  the  valley,  its  climate  and 
the  other  natural  conditions,  among  which  its  people 
lived. 

Rising  at  a point  three  degrees  south  of  the  equator, 
the  Nile  flows  northward  through  equatorial  Africa, 
until,  fifteen  hundred  miles  after  passing  the  lakes 
called  Victoria  and  Albert  Nyanza,  it  is  joined  from 
the  east  by  a great  affluent  coming  out  of  Abyssinia. 
From  the  color  of  the  water  the  western  river  is  known 
as  the  White  Nile,  while  the  eastern  is  called  the  Blue 
Nile  (Map  2).  After  their  junction,  the  common 
stream  is  the  Nile  proper.  The  territory  thus  far 
traversed  by  the  river  is  a vast  and  fertile  region  known 
as  the  Sudan,  which  means  “blacks”  and  refers,  of 
course,  to  the  race  inhabiting  the  region.  At  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  Niles  is  the  frontier  town  of  Khartum ; 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  north  of  this  place, 
the  Nile  receives  another  tributary  from  the  east,  the 
Atbara,  which  is  its  last  affluent;  on  all  its  long  jour- 
ney to  the  sea  it  receives  no  further  contribution  to 
its  waters,  but  must  make  its  way  through  the  desert 
alone.  For  just  below  its  junction  with  the  Atbara, 
the  Nile  enters  the  table  land  of  Nubian  sandstone, 
which  there  underlies  the  Sahara ; for  over  a thousand 
miles  the  river  must  fight  its  way  through  the  tough 
sandstone  which  forms  its  bed,  and  not  the  countless 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


19 


ages  which  have  elapsed  since  it  first  debouched  upon 
the  Sahara,  have  sufficed  to  wear  away  a perfect 
channel. 

In  many  places  the  huge  and  stubborn  rocks  are 
piled  in  masses  in  the  stream,  dividing  the  waters  into 
numerous,  tortuous  channels,  where  they  descend  with 
rush  and  roar,  only  to  meet  with  similar  obstructions 
below.  These  are  the  so-called  cataracts  of  the  Nile, 
which  break  the  stream  at  ten  or  more  points ; but  they 
fall  into  six  main  groups,  so  that  it  is  usually  stated, 
that  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile  are  six  in  number.  They 
are  not  what  we  generally  understand  by  the  term 
cataract,  as  there  .is  no  sudden  and  great  fall  as  in  our 
cataract  at  Niagara.  Finally  the  river  escapes  from 
the  last  obstruction,  an  outcropping  of  granite  which 
thrusts  up  its  rough  shoulder  at  Assuan,  where  the. 
stream  emerges  upon  an  unobstructed  course  of  some 
seven  hundred  miles  to  the  sea.  The  reason  for  this 
difference  is,  that  the  bed  of  the  Sahara,  at  a point  about 
sixty-five  miles  below  Assuan,  suddenly  changes  to 
limestone,  a less  refractory  material,  through  which  the 
river  has  worn  a wide,  deep  channel.  Something  over  a 
hundred  miles  before  reaching  the  sea,  the  river  divides 
into  two  branches,  the  western,  called  the  Rosetta 
mouth,  and  the  eastern,  known  as  the  Damietta  mouth ; 
but  in  antiquity  there  were  seven  such  Delta  mouths 
of  the  river.  From  the  source  to  the  mouth  it  is  about 
four  thousand  miles  in  length  and  thus  ranks  with  the 
longest  rivers  of  the  world.  The  Delta  was,  of  course, 
originally  a large  bay,  which  has  been  gradually  filled 
by  silting  up  from  the  river. 

The  valley  of  the  Nile  is  simply  a vast  canon  cut 
across  the  eastern  end  of  the  Sahara  from  south  to 
north  by  the  age-long  erosion  of  the  river.  This  canon, 
in  the  long,  dreary  stretch  of  the  sandstone  country 
above  Assuan,  is  shallow  and  narrow,  so  much  so  that 
it  can  in  places  hardly  be  termed  a canon ; but  below 
Assuan,  where  the  limestone  begins,  the  canon  is  four- 
teen to  thirty-two  miles  wide,  and  the  cliffs  or  bluffs 
on  either  side  are  frequently  several  hundred  feet  high. 
Flanking  these  cliffs  are  the  desert  wastes,  less  barren 


20 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


and  forbidding  on  the  east.  We  shall  often  take  our 
stand  upon  the  crest  of  these  cliffs  and  overlook  the 
valley,  so  that  we  need  not  further  describe  them  here. 
Eg>'pt  proper  extended  from  the  sea  only  to  Assuan, 
or  the  first  cataract,  as  the  last  cataract  obstructing 
the  river  is  usually  called,  because  it  is  the  first  one  met 
in  the  ascent.  Egypt  was  and  is,  therefore,  a vast 
trench  in  the  Sahara,  to  which  we  must  add  the  Delta, 
the  scattered  oases  in  the  desert  on  the  west,  the  east- 
ern desert  to  the  Red  Sea,  with  the  greater  part  of  the 
Peninsula  of  Sinai.  Of  cultivable  soil  the  narrow  val- 
ley above  the  Delta  contains  less  than  5,000  square 
miles,  the  Delta  itself  somewhat  more  than  that,  so 
that  the  entire  area  of  habitable  country  is  under  10,000 
square  miles.  Within  such  narrow  limits  as  these, 
about  equal  to  the  area  of  Vermont  and  Rhode  Island 
combined,  developed  the  remarkable  civilization  which 
we  are  to  study.  It  will  be  seen  that  we  have  here 
natural  boundaries  producing  unusual  isolation ; on 
the  north  the  almost  harborless  coast  of  the  Delta ; on 
the  east  and  west  the  desert,  and  on  the  south  the 
cataracts.  Here  the  earliest  Egyptians  lived  in  the 
greatest  security  and  seclusion,  and  under  such  condi- 
tions have  not  only  developed  but  also  preserved  many 
striking  and  individual  characteristics. 

The  climate,  although  not  absolutely  rainless  as  often 
stated,  was  and  is  effectually  so,  as  far  as  agriculture  is 
concerned.  The  people  were  thus  forced  to  depend 
upon  the  annual  inundation  from  the  river  for  the  fer- 
tilization of  their  lands,  as  well  as  their  irrigation  after 
the  waters  receded.  Of  all  this  we  shall  see  many  ex- 
amples when  we  have  entered  the  country,  and  we  shall 
not  wonder  that  the  people  early  developed  mechanical 
arts,  when  forced  to  the  daily  use  of  clever  devices 
for  the  utilization  of  the  river,  whether  in  irrigation  or 
navigation.  They  enjoyed  a climate  which  was,  to  be 
sure,  intensely  hot  in  summer,  but  in  winter  equable 
and  delightful  to  a degree  that  is  now  drawing  thou- 
sands of  convalescents  to  Egypt  every  season.  Here, 
then,  recent  excavations  enable  us  to  trace  the  prehis- 
toric Egyptian,  in  the  fifth  or  possibly  the  sixth  mil- 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


21 


lennium  before  Christ,  as  he  passes  from  the  use  of 
stone  and  pottery,  to  the  conquest  of  metals,  the  acqui- 
sition of  writing  and  an  ordered  civilization  under  a 
king. 

The  earliest  Egyptians  were  probably  related  to  the 
Libyans,  and  at  some  remote  period  of  their  history, 
they  were  invaded  by  tribes  of  Semites,  as  in  the 
seventh  century  A.  D.,  the  Arabs  came  in  and  made 
conquest  of  the  country,  at  the  beginning  of  the  spread 
of  Islam.  This  prehistoric  invasion  brought  Semitic 
elements  into  the  language  and  gave  it  a fundamen- 
tally Semitic  structure.  Doubtless  also  some  things 
hitherto  unknown  there,  were  imported  into  the 
material  culture  of  the  earliest  Nile  dwellers.  The 
resulting  composite  race,  of  African-Libyan  and 
Semitic-Asiatic  origin,  is  that  which  emerges  into  the 
light  of  history,  in  the  middle  of  the  forty-third  cen- 
tury before  Christ,  when  they  had  already  sufficient 
knowledge  of  astronomy  to  introduce  a calendar  with 
a year  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  days.  This  is 
the  earliest  fixed  date  in  history  (4241  B.  C.). 

We  dimly  see  at  this  remote  period,  two  kingdoms  on 
the  Nile:  one  in  the  south,  occupying  the  valley 
proper ; the  other  in  the  north,  that  is,  the  Delta. 
These  two  kingdoms  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt 
were  united  some  centuries  later  into  one  nation, 
under  one  king,  and  thus  Egypt,  as  a homogeneous 
nation,  is  born.  Menes,  the  king  under  whom  this 
union  was  accomplished,  thus  heads  the  long  list  of 
dynasties  and  the  line  of  Pharaohs  begins.  This  is 
called  the  dynastic  period,  because  from  now  on  we 
find  successive  generations  or  families  of  kings,  called, 
as  in  European  history,  dynasties,  as  numbered  and 
enumerated  by  the  Eg)q)tian  historian,  Manetho,  who 
wrote  in  the  middle  of  the  third  century  B.  C.  The 
chronology  of  these  dynasties  is  in  the  greatest  confu- 
sion, but  it  is  probable  that  the  accession  of  Menes 
and  the  beginning  of  the  dynastic  age  falls  not  later 
than  3400  B.  C.,  although  it  may  possibly  be  a hun- 
dred years  earlier.  Beginning  here,  then,  we  look 
down  the  changing  panorama  of  Egyptian  history  dur- 


22 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


ing  nearly  5,400  years  to  the  present.  Of  this  vast 
sweep  of  years,  only  the  first  2,400  or  2,500  were  under 
native  Pharaohs,  for  since  the  middle  of  the  tenth 
century  B.  C.  Egypt  has  been  under  foreign  kings, 
with  but  trifling  exceptions.  We  see  her  then  under 
her  native  kings,  making  the  earliest  chapter  in  human 
history,  of  which  we  are  adequately  informed.  The 
first  two  dynasties  of  kings,  living  on  the  upper  river, 
near  Abydos,  were  masters  of  a civilization,  from 
which  we  have,  with  slight  exceptions,  only  material 
remains ; but  these  are  of  such  a character  as  to  arouse 
the  greatest  admiration  at  the  technical  skill  of  these 
remote  craftsmen  on  the  one  hand,  and  their  fine 
sense  of  beauty  on  the  other.  But  we  cannot  trace 
the  political  career  of  these  earliest  dynasties. 

The  Old  Kingdom 

2980— 244S  B.  C. 

With  the  accession  of  the  3rd  Dynasty  we  are  able 
to  discern  something  of  the  political  conditions,  as  we 
see  Egypt  rising  into  her  first  great  period  of  power 
and  prosperity,  which  we  call  the  Old  Kingdom.  It 
includes  Dynasties  3,  4,  5 and  6,  and  lasted  from  the 
early  decades  of  the  thirtieth  century  to  about  2400 
B.  C,  nearly  600  years.  It  offers  the  oldest  example 
of  a developed  civilization  that  is  in  any  adequate 
measure  known  to  us.  Even  granting  that  Mesopota- 
mian culture  is  older,  it  presents  for  the  period  of  the 
Old  Kingdom,  only  an  isolated  date  or  two  with  here 
and  there  a royal  name.  But  to  the  existence  of  the  kings 
of  the  Old  Kingdom,  their  pyramids  still  bear  vivid 
witness ; and  often,  too,  these  royal  tombs  are  sur- 
rounded by  a silent  city  of  mastabas  (masonry  tombs), 
the  walls  of  whose  chapels  acquaint  us  not  merely 
with  the  names,  but  in  graphic  bas-relief  also  with  the 
occupations,  pastimes  and  daily  life  of  whole  genera- 
tions of  grandees,  who  formed  the  court  of  the  Pha- 
raoh in  life,  and  in  death  now  sleep  beside  him.  Hewn 
in  granite,  limestone  or  diorite,  their  faces  are  familiar 
to  us,  and  even  the  flesh  and  blood  features  of  one  of 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


25 


these  antique  Pharaohs  of  the  Old  Kingdom  have  sur- 
vived to  look  into  our  faces  across  nearly  fifty  cen- 
turies. 

In  order  to  view  the  career  of  the  kings  of  this 
period,  we  must  station  ourselves  at  the  southern 
apex  of  the  Delta,  on  the  western  side  of  the  river, 
where  the  ruins  of  Memphis  lie,  for  their  royal  resi- 
dence was  always  in  or  near  this  city  (Map  3).  Here 
we  might  have  seen  the  Pharaoh  ruling  in  absolute 
power,  sending  his  officials  from  end  to  end  of  his 
kingdom,  and  dominating  a functionary-state,  the  offi- 
cials of  which  lived  at  court  directly  under  the  mon- 
arch’s eyes.  It  was  therefore  a closely  centralized 
state,  the  power  of  which  was  focused  in  the  person 
of  the  Pharaoh.  Had  we  walked  the  streets  of  Mem- 
phis we  would  have  found  three  classes  of  people 
at  least : at  the  top  and  bottom,  the  noble  and  offi- 
cial, governing  class,  and  the  serf ; but  it  is  impos- 
sible to  think  that  the  magnificent  works  of  the  Old 
Kingdom  in  art  and  mechanics,  many  of  which  were 
never  later  surpassed,  could  have  been  produced  with- 
out a class  of  free  craftsmen.  There  was,  therefore, 
a free  middle  class  of  artisans  and  tradesmen.  Art 
in  sculpture,  and  the  crafts  attained  a marvelous  per- 
fection ; literature  flourished ; and  in  religion  appear 
traces  of  an  ethical  test  applied  to  every  one. 

It  is  far  easier  to  draw  a picture  of  the  life  of  the 
Old  Kingdom  than  to  trace  its  history.  Purely 
monumental  materials  are  often  eloquent  witnesses  of 
power  and  splendor,  but  give  us  little  of  that  succes- 
sion of  conditions  and  events  which  forms  history. 
Imagine  an  attempt  to  trace  the  history  of  Greece  solely 
from  its  surviving  monuments ; much  of  the  temper 
of  the  Greek  people  may  have  found  expression  there, 
but  little  of  the  course  of  events  which  marked  their 
political  history,  and  still  less  of  the  gradual  mental 
unfolding,  by  which  a people  of  rare  intellectual  powers 
developed  with  unparalleled  rapidity,  from  childish 
myths  to  the  profoundest  philosophy.  So  in  the  4th 
Dynasty,  its  rapid  rise  is  evident  from  the  enormous  size 
of  the  Gizeh  pyramids,  but  of  the  other  deeds  of  their 


24 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


builders  we  know,  little.  Already  in  the  1st  Dynasty, 
the  Pharaohs  had  begun  mining  operations  among  the 
copper  veins  in  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  and  left  their 
monuments  of  victory  there.  Snofru,  the  last  king  of 
the  3rd  Dynasty,  continued  these  enterprises,  and  sent 
fleets  on  the  Mediterranean  as  far  north  as  the  slopes 
of  Lebanon,  where  they  procured  cedar  for  Snofru’s 
buildings.  After  three-quarters  of  a century  of  ever- 
increasing  power  and  splendor,  the  3rd  Dynasty  was 
then  succeeded  by  another  family,  the  builders  of  the 
great  pyramids  of  Gizeh,  the  4th  Dynasty.  The  pos- 
sibly three  centuries  or  more  during  which  the  4th 
and  5th  Dynasties  ruled,  clearly  show  a steady  decline 
in  power  after  the  first  century,  if  the  decreasing  size 
of  the  pyramids  is  any  criterion ; until  in  the  6th 
Dynasty,  it  is  evident  that  the  central  power  is  slowly 
disintegrating.  The  Pharaoh’s  governors  in  the  local 
administrative  districts  had  gradually  gained  hered- 
itary hold  upon  their  offices  and  the  districts  they  gov- 
erned. They  thus  developed  into  a class  of  powerful 
landed  lords  and  princes.  They  no  longer  build  their 
tombs  alongside  that  of  the  Pharaoh,  but  are  buried 
on  their  own  ancestral  estates,  where  they  have  doubt- 
less resided  rather  than  at  court  as  before.  They  were 
gradually  drawing  away  from  the  king,  who  was  un- 
able to  prevent  them  from  attaining  a greater  degree 
of  independence. 

A court  favorite  of  the  time,  named  Una,  has  left  us 
in  his  biography,  an  account  of  how  he  led  a body  of 
troops  into  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  where  he  five  times 
routed  the  Beduin  enemy.  After  this  he  brought  his 
army  by  sea,  on  an  expedition,  as  he  says,  “north  of 
the  land  of  the  sand-dwellers,”  that  is,  the  Beduin  of 
Sinai.  North  of  them  means  toward  if  not  into  Pales- 
tine, as  he  speaks  of  reaching  certain  “highlands,” 
which  may  be  those  of  Judea;  but  few  details  further 
than  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  are  given.  Already  at 
this  remote  age,  the  noblemen  of  the  Pharaoh  carried 
on  for  him  traffic  with  the  east  African  coast,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  region  which  we  now 
call  the  Somali  coast  (Map  2).  These  are  the  earliest 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


25 


voyages  in  the  open  sea  known  in  history.  On  the 
southern  frontier  similar  officials  carried  on  caravan 
trade  with  the  Sudan,  and  subdued  the  warlike  Nubian 
tribes  in  order  to  keep  open  the  southern  trade-routes. 
We  shall  visit  the  tombs  of  these  aggressive  nobles  at 
the  first  cataract.  There  are  also  evidences  of  trade 
with  the  Aegean  islands  in  the  Old  Kingdom. 

Having  ruled  some  150  years,  the  6th  Dynasty  sank 
gradually  into  obscurity ; with  it  fell  the  Old  Kingdom, 
leaving  as  its  witnesses  the  irregular  line  of  pyramids, 
which  stretch  from  Abu  Roash,  opposite  the  south- 
ern apex  of  the  Delta,  southward  for  sixteen  miles 
along  the  margin  of  the  desert  to  Sakkara,  beside  the 
ruins  of  ancient  Memphis  (Map  5). 

With  the  overthrow  of  the  Old  Kingdom  we  see 
the  seat  of  power  gradually  moving  up  the  river  from 
Memphis.  The  local  barons,  who  have  now  gained 
their  independence,  are  contending  among  themselves 
for  the  crown.  Of  the  7th  and  8th  Dynasties  we  know 
nothing,  but  we  shall  see,  in  our  voyage  up  the  river, 
the  tombs  of  the  nobles  of  Assiut,  the  vassals  of  the 
9th  and  10th  Dynasty  kings  who  ended  Memphite 
supremacy  and  lived  at  Heracleopolis  (Maps  6 and  3). 

The  Middle  Kingdom 

2160—1788  B.  C. 

The  Heradeopolitans  were  unable  to  maintain  them- 
selves against  the  nobles  of  the  south,  especially  the 
princes  of  Thebes,  a city  which,  at  this  point,  for  the 
first  time  appears  among  the  contestants,  in  so  far  as 
we  know.  You  will  find  it  at  an  important  strategic 
point  upon  the  river,  not  far  above  the  bend,  where  it 
approaches  most  closely  to  the  Red  Sea  (south  of  its 
northern  arm,  known  as  the  Gulf  of  Suez ; — see  Map 
3).  Tliebes  from  now  on  plays  a prominent  part  in 
the  history  of  the  country ; for  a Theban  family  of 
nobles  succeeds  in  pushing  down  the  river,  overthrow- 
ing the  Heradeopolitans,  and  setting  up  a new  dynasty, 
the  11th.  This  begins  Egypt’s  second  great  period  of 
power,  which  we  will  call  the  Middle  Kingdom.  As 


26 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


the  11th  Dynasty  was  succeeded  by  the  12th,  also 
of  Theban  origin,  the  power  of  Thebes  was  firmly 
established  over  the  whole  country,  and  thus  about 
2000  B.  C.  the  country  entered  upon  two  centuries  of 
unexampled  prosperity  and  splendor.  The  organiza- 
tion of  the  new  government  was  essentially  that  of  a 
feudal  state,  a fact  which  shows  that  during  the  ob- 
scure period  that  preceded,  the  nobles  have  won  a large 
degree  of  independence,  the  beginnings  of  which  we 
have  already  seen  in  the  Gth  Dynasty.  Social  condi- 
tions have  not  materially  changed  since  the  Old 
Kingdom. 

In  order  better  to  govern  their  new  kingdom,  the 
powerful  monarchs  of  the  12th  Dynasty,  the  Theban 
Amenemhets  and  the  Sesostrises,  moved  down  the 
river  to  a point  not  far  from  the  pyramids  of  the  Old 
Kingdom,  probably  just  above  Memphis,  and  there 
they  ruled  with  a sagacity  and  firmness  that  kept  their 
family  on  the  throne  for  over  two  hundred  years.  This 
is  the  classic  period  of  Egyptian  history ; the  system  of 
writing  for  the  first  time  attains  a consistent  and  fixed 
orthography  and  literature  flourishes  as  never  before. 
The  arts  continued  to  develop  with  unprecedented 
splendor,  medicine  and  elementary  science  made  great 
progress ; in  religion,  the  ethical  element  had  now 
triumphed,  and  the  ethical  quality  of  a man’s  life  de- 
termined his  destiny  hereafter.  The  resources  of  the 
country  were  developed  and  utilized  as  at  no  time 
before.  The  kings  executed  enormous  hydraulic  works 
for  recovering  a portion  of  the  flooded  Fayum,  a large 
oasis  on  the  west  of  the  Nile  valley,  so  close  to  it  that 
at  some  probably  prehistoric  period  it  was  flooded  from 
the  inundation  by  the  river  (Map  5),  forming  the  Lake 
Moeris  of  Greek  times.  Near  the  same  place  Ame- 
nemhet  III  built  the  vast  structure  known  in  classic 
days  as  the  labyrinth.  Abroad,  Sesostris  III  followed 
up  the  campaigns  of  his  ancestors  in  Nubia  so  success- 
fully that  he  conquered  all  the  territory  above  the  first 
cataract  as  far  as  the  second  (Maps  2 and  3),  and  made 
his  permanent  frontier  at  a point  above  the  second 
cataract,  where  he  established  several  strong  fortresses 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


27 


to  maintain  it,  thus  adding  200  miles  of  Nile  valley  to 
the  kingdom  of  Egypt.  This  province  he  then  con- 
nected with  Egypt  by  a canal  at  the  first  cataract. 
Trade  with  the  southern  Red  Sea  countries  was  still 
maintained.  We  hear  even  of  a campaign  in  Syria, 
though  its  results  were  evidently  not  lasting.  Traffic 
with  the  Aegean  islands  was  not  uncommon.  Thus  the 
Middle  Kingdom,  the  feudal  age  of  Egypt,  shows  itself 
more  aggressive  both  at  home  and  abroad  than  the 
Old  Kingdom,  the  age  of  the  pyramid  builders. 

The  12th  Dynasty  kings  have  also  left  us  their  pyra- 
mids extending  in  a straggling  line  from  Dashur,  just 
south  of  Sakkara,  to  Illahun,  in  the  mouth  of  the 
Fayum  (Map  6).  Of  their  temples,  next  to  nothing 
has  survived,  owing  to  the  complete  rebuilding  under 
the  • Empire.  Under  their  successors  of  the  13th 
Dynasty,  the  power  of  the  Pharaohs  is  again  on 
the  decline,  resulting  finally  in  the  second  period  of 
uncertainty,  like  that  which  followed  the  Old  King- 
dom. Passing  over  the  obscurities  of  the  period,  all 
that  we  certainly  know  is,  that  for  a few  generations 
before  its  close,  we  find  the  country  in  the  power  of 
foreigners,  usually  called  the  Hyksos  (after  Josephus), 
who  took  possession  of  the  Delta  and  the  valley  for  an 
uncertain  distance  up  the  river.  They  came  from  the 
north — that  is,  Asia — and  were  probably  Semites. 

The  Empire 

1580—1150  B.  C. 

Against  these  usurpers,  the  Theban  princes,  the  suc- 
cessors of  the  Middle  Kingdom  Pharaohs,  finally 
waged  a war  of  independence,  which  was  brought  to 
a successful  issue  by  Ahmosis,  the  founder  and  first 
king  of  the  18th  Dynasty.  He  drove  the  enemy  from 
their  stronghold,  Avaris  in  the  Delta,  whence  they 
fled  to  Palestine,  and  there  Ahmosis  besieged  them 
for  six  years  in  the  southern  Palestinian  city  of 
Sharuhen,  mentioned  also  in  the  Old  Testament 
(Joshua  xix,  6).  After  he  had  expelled  them  and  pur- 
sued them  to  Phoenicia,  he  returned  to  Egypt  to  wield 


28 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


a power,  up  to  that  time  unknown  to  any  Pharaoh. 
For  in  the  war  for  liberty  and  long-continued  interne- 
cine conflicts  the  local  barons  have  been  practically 
exterminated,  and  thus  about  1580  B.  C.  Egypt  begins 
her  third  period  of  power,  which  we  may  call  the 
Empire,  with  a totally  different  organization  from  any 
that  we  have  thus  far  found.  It  is  now  a military  state, 
largely  made  so  by  the  wars  with  the  Hyksos,  who 
taught  the  Egyptians  warfare  and  for  the  first  time 
introduced  the  horse  into  the  Nile  valley.  What  few 
nobles  have  survived  are  no  longer  local  proprietors,  but 
simply  hold  rank  in  the  Pharaoh’s  service ; the  Pharaoh 
personally  owns  the  land.  For  the  first  time  there  is 
a great  standing  army,  into  which  we  see  Egyptian 
gentlemen  entering  as  professional  soldiers,  and  from 
now  on  the  soldier  is  the  most  prominent  figure  in 
political  life.  Side  by  side  with  him,  and  for  the  first 
time  also  a power  in  the  state,  now  stands  the  priest. 
Soldier  and  priest,  therefore,  replace  the  barons  of  the 
Middle  and  the  functionaries  of  the  Old  Kingdom. 

From  Thebes,  now  just  beginning  its  career  of 
splendor,  the  great  military  monarchs  of  the  18th 
Dynasty  went  forth  to  cross  the  isthmus  of  Suez  and 
conquer  Palestine  and  Syria,  or  to  pass  up  the  river 
into  Nubia  and  push  the  frontier  of  Egypt  to  a point 
above  the  fourth  cataract  of  the  Nile  (Map  3),  the 
extreme  southern  limit  of  Pharaonic  conquest.  The 
grandson  of  Ahmosis,  Thutmosis  I,  whose  obelisk  we 
shall  see  at  Thebes,  carried  Egyptian  power  to  the 
upper  Euphrates  (Maps  1 and  2),  but  was  unable  to 
organize  his  conquests  into  Egyptian  dependencies. 
The  succession  of  his  daughter,  Hatshepsut,  inter- 
rupted the  course  of  foreign  conquest,  for  this  remark- 
able queen  was  not  given  to  war,  and  neglected  the 
empire  abroad.  She  devoted  herself  to  the  peaceful 
development  of  her  empire.  Her  greatest  feat  was  an 
expedition  to  the  Somali  coast,  on  a much  larger  scale 
than  anything  formerly  known,  and,  when  we  have 
visited  Thebes,  we  will  see  her  expedition  trafficking 
with  the  natives  of  distant  Punt,  as  the  Egyptians 
called  the  Somali  coast.  Meantime  the  Asiatic  con- 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


29 


quests  fall  away.  Finally,  after  much  confusion  in  the 
succession  to  the  crown,  Thutmosis  III,  the  brother  of 
the  talented  queen,  succeeds  in  maneuvering'  his  sister 
out  of  the  throne.  He  immediately  began  the  recovery 
of  the  conquests  in  Asia.  In  no  less  than  seventeen 
great  campaigns  he  subdued  all  Palestine  and  Syria ; 
he  planted  a tablet  of  victory  alongside  that  of  his 
father  on  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates,  he  organized 
the  conquered  lands  into  def>endencies  of  Egypt,  built 
forts,  planted  garrisons,  appointed  governors,  or  al- 
lowed former  princes  to  rule  as  vassals  of  Egypt ; and 
when  he  died,  after  a reign  of  fifty-four  years,  he  was 
regularly  receiving  tribute  from  the  uttermost  parts 
of  a vast  realm,  the  first  organized  empire  known  in 
history,  extending  from  the  upper  waters  of  the  Eu- 
phrates to  the  fourth  cataract  of  the  Nile.  All  that 
honor,  which,  following  current  tradition,  we  have 
customarily  accorded  Ramses  II,  belongs  to  Tliutmosis 
III  as  the  greatest  military  genius  of  earlier  Oriental 
history. 

This  position  of  power  and  splendor,  the  influx  of 
untold  wealth,  the  sudden  and  intimate  commingling 
with  the  life  and  culture  of  Asiatic  peoples,  reacted 
powerfully  upon  Egypt,  as  well  in  political  as  in  social 
and  industrial  life,  producing  after  the  reign  of  Thut- 
mosis III  the  most  profound  and  far-reaching  changes. 
Before  the  18th  Dynasty,  social  conditions  were  not 
radically  different  from  those  of  the  Middle  King- 
dom, so  that  there  is  more  of  change  in  this  particular, 
in  and  immediately  following  his  reign,  than  during 
the  entire  interim  from  the  Middle  Kingdom  to  the 
Empire.  Among  many  of  these  changes,  we  notice  the 
vast  influx  of  foreign  captives,  taken  especially  in 
the  Asiatic  wars.  They  were  utilized  particularly  on 
the  Pharaoh’s  buildings,  in  just  such  a manner  as  the 
Hebrews  were  employed,  or  in  mediaeval  days,  the  cap- 
tives from  the  ranks  of  the  crusaders  forced  by  Saladin 
to  build  the  walls  of  his  citadel  at  Cairo.  It  was  their 
labor,  though  not  their  skill,  which  built  the  mighty 
temples  which  we  shall  find  up  the  river,  especially  at 
Thebes.  In  general,  all  those  changes,  which  affect 


30 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


a people  of  simple  habits,  when  suddenly  raised  to  a 
position  of  great  power,  are  now  observable.  Asiatic 
princesses  from  Babylonia  and  the  upper  Euphrates  for 
three  traceable  generations  and  probably  longer,  are 
given  in  marriage  to  the  Pharaoh  by  their  royal 
fathers.  In  the  industrial  and  aesthetic  arts,  in  lan- 
guage, in  costume,  in  religion,  in  pastimes,  in  war, 
Egypt  is  now  strongly  tinctured  by  Semitic  Asia. 
Even  far  off  Mycenae,  too,  is  present  in  pottery  and 
metal  work,  and  traffic  with  the  whole  northern  world 
is  constant  and  far-reaching. 

Under  the  two  immediate  successors  of  Thutmosis 
III,  his  vast  conquests  in  Asia  were  maintained  with 
vigilance,  followed  by  some  relaxation  under  Ameno- 
phis  III,  his  great-grandson.  The  thinking  men  of  the 
time  now  began  unconsciously  to  feel  the  widening  of 
the  horizon,  which  Egypt  had  experienced  in  the  last 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  Most  of  their  gods  had  once 
been  local  divinities,  worshiped  only  in  restricted  dis- 
tricts, but  they  now  began  to  extend  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  great  state  god  Re  to  the  limits  of  the  Egyptian 
empire.  In  other  words,  political  conditions  were  grad- 
ually leading  them  to  a practical  if  not  to  a philo- 
sophical monotheism.  Amenophis  IV,  the  son  of 
Amenophis  III,  provoked  by  the  rising  power  of  the 
old  Theban  god  Amon,  with  whose  priesthood  he  was 
politically  at  loggerheads,  inaugurated  a far-reaching 
revolution,  in  the  course  of  which  he  attempted  to 
introduce  the  exclusive  worship  of  Re,  the  sun-god, 
throughout  his  realm.  For  this  purpose  he  established 
several  new  cities,  one  in  Egypt,  one  in  Nubia,  and 
possibly  one  in  Palestine,  each  devoted  to  the  sole  wor- 
ship of  his  sun-god  under  the  name  “Aton,”  which 
is  an  old  Egyptian  word,  meaning  “sun-disk  ” The 
new  city  in  Egypt  was  located  at  Tell  el-Amarna  (Map 
3),  about  320  miles  below  Thebes;  and,  forsaking 
Thebes,  the  king  made  it  his  royal  residence  and  cap- 
ital, at  the  same  time  changing  his  own  name  from 
Amenophis,  which  contained  the  name  of  the  hated 
Amon,  to  Ikhnaton,  which  means  “Brightness  (or  pos- 
sibly Spirit)  of  the  Sun-Disk.” 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


31 


The  beliefs  of  the  new  faith,  developed  by  Amenophis 
IV,  are  remarkable.  The  surviving  hymns,  contain- 
ing all  that  we  know  of  it,  express  adoration  of  one 
god,  ruling  all  the  world  of  which  the  Egyptian  knew. 
They  delight  in  reiterated  examples  of  his  creative 
power,  as  seen  in  plants,  animals,  men,  or  the  great 
world  itself,  and  then  of  his  benevolent  sustenance  of 
all  that  he  has  created.  But  they  are  not  ethical ; they 
contain  no  hint  that  the  recognition  of  a great  benevo- 
lent purpose  carries  with  it  morality  and  righteous- 
ness in  the  character  of  god,  or  the  demand  for  these 
in  the  character  of  men.  Nevertheless,  the  entire  move- 
ment was  far  in  advance  of  the  age.  After  a reign  of 
seventeen  years  Ikhnaton  died,  leaving  no  son ; with 
him  perished  the  remarkable  movement,  which  solely 
by  his  own  personal  power  he  had  sustained  against 
the  tremendous  inertia  of  immemiorial  custom  and 
tradition.  The  Amonite  priests  wreaked  vengeance 
upon  the  body,  the  tomb,  the  temple  and  the  city  of 
the  hated  idealist,  and  reestablished  the  traditional 
religion. 

The  Amarna  letters,  a series  of  long-continued  cor- 
respondence found  in  the  ruins  of  Ikhnaton’s  new  city 
of  Tell  el-Amama,  a correspondence  maintained  be- 
tween the  Pharaohs  and  their  vassal  kinglets  in  Syria 
and  Palestine,  besides  also  a series  of  letters  between 
the  kings  of  the  Tigro-Euphrates  valley  and  the  Pha- 
raohs— all  this  affords  us  a vivid  picture  of  the  provin- 
cial administration  of  this  period,  and  of  the  plotting 
and  counterplotting  of  the  petty,  semi-independent 
Palestinian  and  Syrian  rulers,  each  striving  to  gain  the 
support  of  the  home  government  against  his  fellows. 
Here  we  find  Machiavellian  politics  already  ripened  to 
a degree  of  cynical  perfection,  which  we  should  never 
have  anticipated.  But  the  far-reaching  disturbances 
accompanying  the  revolution  of  Ikhnaton  weakened  the 
foreign  administration  to  such  an  extent  that  all  the 
Asiatic  states  revolted.  Tlie  revolt  was  complicated  by 
the  advance  of  the  Hittites  from  eastern  Asia  Minor 
into  Syria,  and  the  invasion  of  Palestine  and  Syria 
by  Beduin  hordes  in  one  of  their  periodic  overflows 


32 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


from  the  eastern  deserts.  With  this  latter  movement 
began  the  Hebrew  occupation  of  Palestine,  and  among 
the  Beduin,  whose  invasion  of  Palestine  is  revealed  in 
the  Amarna  letters  at  this  time,  we  must  recognize  the 
Hebrews.  The  royal  house  could  not  withstand  the 
shock  and  the  18th  Dynasty  fell  about  1350  B.  C., 
having  enjoyed  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  of  un- 
precedented power  and  splendor. 

With  the  rise  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  about  1350 
B.  C.,  new  conditions  confronted  the  Pharaohs  in  Asia. 
The  Hittites,  foemen  fully  equal  to  the  contest  with 
Egypt  for  the  possession  of  her  former  Asiatic  con- 
quests, had  meantime,  as  we  have  seen,  pressed  into 
Syria  from  Asia  Minor,  and,  advancing  southward, 
before  the  close  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  had  occupied 
the  country  as  far  south  as  the  Lebanons.  Thus  Sethos 
I,  whose  face  we  shall  yet  look  upon,  after  receiving 
the  ready  submission  of  Palestine,  was  able  to  advance 
no  further  than  a little  north  of  Carmel,  thus  gaining 
the  southern  coast  of  Phoenicia.  His  son,  Ramses  II, 
after  continuous  war  for  over  seventeen  years,  failed 
to  break  the  p>ower  of  the  stubborn  Hittites,  or  to 
wrench  from  them  the  northern  conquests  of  Thutmo- 
sis  HI.  He  therefore  concluded  a peace  with  them  on 
equal  terms,  having  permanently  advanced  his  northern 
boundaries  very  little  beyond  those  of  his  father,  Sethos 
I.  One  of  his  famous  battles  in  this  war  at  the  city 
of  Kadesh  nearly  cost  him  his  life,  and  he  was  fond 
of  having  his  valiant  defence  on  that  occasion  depicted 
in  splendid  reliefs  in  his  great  temples.  These  we 
shall  later  see  at  Thebes.  Egypt’s  territory  in  Asia  is 
now  essentially  within  the  limits  of  later  Palestine,  with 
the  addition  of  the  Phcenician  coast  cities  as  far  north 
as  Beirut  (Berytus,  Map  2).  The  enormously  long  reign 
of  Ramses  II  (sixty-seven  years)  and  the  astonishing 
number  of  his  great  buildings  made  him  the  ideal 
Pharaoh  in  the  eyes  of  later  generations,  and  even 
modern  scholars  have  falsely  identified  him  with  Sesos- 
tris,  the  legendary  hero  of  Egypt  in  Greek  tradition, 
about  whom  clustered  all  the  great  deeds  of  Egypt’s 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


33 


kings  of  every  age.  But  all  the  Sesostrises  belong  in 
the  Middle  Kingdom. 

Under  the  successors  of  Ramses  II,  the  Empire,  hard 
beset  by  Libyan  invasion,  again  sank  into  weakness 
and  confusion.  Among  the  Semitic  captives  who,  in 
great  numbers,  have  been  brought  into  the  country 
since  the  days  of  Tliutmosis  III,  the  Hebrews  must 
have  been  toiling  on  the  royal  buildings  of  this  age, 
as  narrated  in  the  Old  Testament.  They  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,  in  the  eastern  Delta,  which  we  shall 
later  visit.  In  the  Cairo  Museum  we  shall  see  the  only 
monument  referring  to  Israel  by  name.  The  scanty 
evidence  would  indicate  that  their  escape  from  Egypt 
occurred  in  the  decline  which  followed  the  death  of 
Ramses  II,  but  there  is  no  monumental  reference  to 
their  flight.  On  their  escape  they  were  able  to  join 
kindred  tribes  who  had  been  gradually  occupying  Pal- 
estine since  the  decline  of  the  18th  Dynasty.  (See 
above. ) 

With  the  accession  of  the  20th  Dynasty,  about  1200 
B.  C.,  the  country  is  so  visibly  on  the  decline,  that  the 
rise  of  this  or  that  family  into  power  is  but  an  incident 
in  her  decay.  The  advent  of  the  20th  Dynasty  under 
Ramses  III  was  therefore  but  a deceptive  rally.  This 
king,  who  in  every  way  imitated  Ramses  II,  succeeded 
in  turning  back  the  tide  of  Libyan  invasion,  already 
serious  at  the  close  of  the  19th  Dynasty.  He  was 
notably  successful  in  maintaining  his  Asiatic  frontier 
at  essentially  the  same  limits  as  those  of  Ramses  II, 
and  this,  against  an  inp>ouring  horde  of  invaders  from 
the  north,  who  advanced  southward  by  sea  and  land, 
devastating  Syria  as  they  went.  We  shall  see  at 
Thebes,  on  the  wall  of  one  of  his  temples,  the  naval 
battle  which  he  fought  with  them.  But  his  is  an  empty 
prosperity;  affairs  at  home  are  in  the  worst  possible 
condition.  The  native  forces  of  the  Egyptian  people 
are  exhausted ; their  military  enthusiasm  is  forever 
quenched.  From  the  fall  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  the 
internal  history  of  Eg\'pt  is  but  the  story  of  the  over- 
throw of  the  Pharaohs  and  the  usurpation  of  the  throne, 


34 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


first  by  the  priests  of  Amon,  and  then  by  foreign  merce- 
naries from  the  ranks  of  the  Libyans,  who  now  largely 
make  up  the  army.  The  offices  of  the  priest  and  the 
soldier,  the  stren^h  of  the  state  in  the  early  Empire, 
are  now  perverted  to  the  destruction  of  the  ancient 
nation. 

The  Decadence 

1150—663  B.  C. 

Shortly  after  the  death  of  Ramses  III  the  Asi- 
atic empire  finally  collapsed,  and  the  long  Deca- 
dence ensued.  Ramses  XII,  the  ninth  of  the  feeble 
Ramessids,  who,  one  after  another,  followed  Ramses 
III,  was  unable  to  transmit  the  crown  to  his  son,  or 
was  quietly  set  aside  by  Hir-Hor,  the  high  priest  of 
Amon  at  Thebes.  The  priests  did  not  long  succeed 
in  retaining  the  royal  honors,  for  the  Ramessids,  who, 
from  Ramses  II’s  day,  had  lived  in  the  Delta,  set  up 
a dynasty  in  his  splendid  Delta  city  of  Tanis.  They 
forced  the  Amonite  priests  from  the  throne  and  recon- 
ciled the  priestly  party  by  themselves  assuming  the 
high  priesthood  of  Amon,  and  intermarrying  with  the 
women  of  the  old  priestly  house.  They  form  the 
21st  Dynasty.  The  overthrow  of  the  Ramessids  of 
the  20th  Dynasty  could  hardly  have  occurred  much 
later  than  1100  B.  C.  It  brought  the  seat  of  power 
finally  to  the  Delta,  already  since  Ramses  IFs  day  the 
royal  residence,  and  thus  the  decline  of  Thebes  began. 
It  also  lost  Palestine  to  Egypt  and  permitted  the  rise 
of  the  Israelitish  monarchy  during  the  eleventh  and 
tenth  centuries,  in  a region,  which,  for  about  five  hun- 
dred years  had  been  an  Egyptian  province.  The  great 
building  period  which  began  with  the  18th  Dynasty 
at  Thebes,  was  now  ended,  and  the  vast  temples  which 
we  shall  find  there  grew  up  under  the  Empire,  par- 
ticularly the  18th  and  19th  Dynasties. 

From  very  early  times  the  Egyptians,  naturally  un- 
warlike, had  received  Libyan  mercenaries  among  their 
troops.  From  the  rise  of  the  19th  Dynasty  onward, 
the  native  forces  were  more  and  more  inclined  to  re- 
linquish the  sword  to  these  foreigners,  who  increased  in 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


35 


numbers  with  every  subsequent  reign.  The  victories 
of  Ramses  III  were  for  the  most  part  due  to  them. 
About  950  B.  C.,  when  the  power  of  the  native  Pha- 
raohs was  at  its  lowest  ebb,  these  powerful  military 
adventurers  thrust  aside  the  feeble  21st  Dynasty  and 
assumed  the  kingship,  forming  the  22nd  Dynasty. 
Thus,  after  some  two  thousand  five  hundred  years  of 
native  rule,  the  spent  and  impoverished  nation  passed 
under  foreign  masters,  and  with  trifling  exceptions  she 
has  had  nothing  else  since.  From  this  time  on,  there 
was  “no  more  a prince  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt.” 

The  Libyan  Period 

950—663  B.  C. 

The  first  ruler  of  the  new  family,  Sheshonk  (Bibli- 
cal Shishak),  early  planned  for  the  recovery  of  the 
ancient  province  of  Palestine.  Hence  it  was  that  he 
received  Jeroboam  so  willingly  and  seized  the  oppor- 
tunity of  a division  among  the  Hebrews  (with  which 
it  is  not  impossible  that  he  had  something  to  do),  to 
reconquer  Palestine  and  plunder  Jerusalem  (I  Kings 
xiv,  25-26).  The  attempted  reconquest,  apparently 
little  more  than  a plundering  expedition,  was  not  en- 
during, but  Sheshonk  had  a record  of  it  engraved  on 
the  wall  of  the  Karnak  temple  at  Thebes,  where  we 
shall  study  it.  But  the  power  of  Sheshonk’s  successors 
in  Bubastis,  the  Osorkons,  the  Sheshonks,  and  the 
Takelots,  rapidly  declined,  while  in  the  Delta  and  up 
the  valley  there  was,  within  a hundred  years  of  the 
first  Sheshonk’s  death,  a similar  kinglet  in  almost  every 
important  city.  Hence  it  was  that  Egypt  was  unable 
to  do  anything  to  check  the  rapidly  rising  power  of 
Assyria,  which  was  now  threatening  Palestine.  Of 
these  Bubastite  or  22nd  Dynasty  kings  after  Shes- 
honk I,  we  know  almost  nothing,  so  few  monuments 
have  been  left  us,  and  so  complete  is  the  destruction  of 
the  Delta  cities, 


36 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


The  Nubian  Period 

775—663  B.  C. 

While  the  weakling  princes  of  the  Delta  were  doing 
all  in  tl]eir  power  to  check  Assyria’s  westward  prog- 
ress, a new  complication  arose  in  the  Nile  valley  itself. 
Probably  as  early  as  the  21st  Dynasty  the  Nubians 
had  gained  their  independence  and  there  grew  up  an 
independent  Cushite  kingdom  on  the  upper  river,  with 
its  capital  at  Napata,  just  below  the  fourth  cataract 
(Maps  2 and  3).  Here,  then,  with  an  ever  deepening 
tinge  of  barbarism,  we  find  developing  a repetition  of 
the  Theban  state,  with  Amon  at  its  head.  These  Egyp- 
tianized  Ethiopians  soon  pushed  northward  and  gained 
control  of  Thebes,  whose  priesthood  had  perhaps 
founded  the  new  kingdom  at  Napata.  By  732  B.  C. 
they  were  ready  for  greater  things,  and  the  conquest 
of  all  Egypt,  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  more 
stubborn  Delta  cities,  was  successfully  achieved  by 
their  first  great  king,  Piankhi.  It  was,  however,  but 
temporary,  and  for  a hundred  years  after  the  invasion 
the  history  of  Egypt  is  made  up  on  the  one  hand  of 
attempts  of  the  local  kinglets  on  the  lower  river  at 
overthrowing  each  other,  and  on  the  other  of  invasions 
of  the  Ethiopians,  who  found  it  only  too  easy  to  sub- 
due and  plunder  a nation  so  disorganized.  This  situa- 
tion was  further  complicated  by  continual  attempts 
against  the  advance  of  the  Assyrians.  But  by  670 
B.  C.,  after  futile  efforts  on  the  part  of  successive 
Ethiopian  kings  to  halt  Assyria,  the  dreaded  invasion 
by  that  power  comes,  and  Memphis  is  plundered. 
Tanutamon,  the  last  of  the  Ethiopians  to  renew  the 
attempt  to  hold  Egypt,  again  came  down  the  river 
as  far  as  Memphis  in  663  B.  C.,  and  thus  provoked 
another  invasion  of  the  Assyrians  under  Ashurbanipal. 
The  latter  advanced  a forty  days’  march  up  the  river 
to  Thebes,  which  he  sacked  and  wasted,  a ruin  from 
which  the  great  capital  of  the  monarchs  of  the  Empire 
never  wholly  recovered.  Neither  Tanutamon  nor  his 
successors  ever  again  ventured  into  Egypt ; the  Ethio- 
pian domination  in  Egypt  had  thus  lasted,  with  some 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


37 


interruptions,  from  732  to  663  B.  C.  Having  trans- 
ferred the  capital  from  Napata  to  Meroe  (Map  3)  far 
up  toward  the  junction  of  the  two  Niles,  the  Ethio- 
pian kingdom  endured  down  into  the  first  Christian 
centuries. 


The  Restoration 

663—525  B.  C. 

The  strife  of  the  local  dynasts  and  petty  kings,  which 
now  broke  out  anew,  might  have  continued  indefinitely 
had  not  a new  element  been  suddenly  introduced. 
Psamtik  (Greek  Psammetichos),  a Delta  prince  of  Sais, 
following  the  traditions  of  his  family,  was  enabled  to 
gain  the  lead  by  the  employment  of  mercenaries  from 
a new  source ; these  were  Greeks  and  Carians.  By  this 
means  he  rapidly  subdued  his  neighbors,  threw  off  the 
yoke  of  Assyria,  and  by  645  B.  C.  had  gained  the 
whole  valley  as  far  as  the  first  cataract,  in  addition  to 
the  Delta.  Assyria,  now  nearing  her  fall,  was  unable 
to  prevent  the  consolidation  of  his  power.  Thus,  after 
centuries  of  unparalleled  confusion  and  disunion, 
Egypt  was  finally  granted  peace  and  stable  govern- 
ment, and  Psamtik  ushered  in  a new  day.  His  family 
we  call  the  26th  Dynasty.  Egypt  now  prospered  as 
never  before,  and  in  Greek  and  Phoenician  bottoms, 
her  products  were  carried  to  every  mart  of  the  known 
world.  Now  began  the  establishment  of  her  naval 
power,  which  made  her  so  formidable  under  the  Ptole- 
mies. The  Greeks  now  entered  the  country  in  large 
numbers,  and  were  allowed  to  found  in  the  western 
Delta  their  great  trading  city  of  Naukratis.  This 
period  was  in  every  sense  a restoration ; p>erhaps  not  of 
the  glory  of  the  Empire,  but  in  intention  at  least, 
a restoration  of  the  Old  Kingdom,  which  had  created 
such  enduring  witnesses  of  its  power,  and  seen  through 
the  perspective  of  twenty  centuries,  seemed  to  the 
Saites  an  ideal  age.  Although  the  hopes  of  Psamtik’s 
Dynasty,  for  the  recovery  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  nat- 
urally excited  by  the  fall  of  Assyria,  were  thwarted  by 


38 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


the  unexpected  rise  of  Babylonia  under  Nebuchadrez- 
zar, nevertheless  the  family  ruled  in  great  power  and 
prosperity  for  138  years  from  the  accession  of  its 
founder.  But  new  forces  are  at  work,  the  old  oriental 
world  is  being  gradually  broken  up  and  transformed, 
Egyptian  and  Semitic  dominance  is  at  an  end,  and  the 
western  world  is  soon  to  touch  the  east  with  a mighty 
hand,  involving  it  forever  in  the  destinies  of  the  great 
nations  of  Europe.  But  first  came  the  rise  and  dom- 
inance of  Persia. 


The  Persian  Period 

525—33 8 B.  C. 

In  525  B.  C.  Cambyses  defeated  Psamtik  III,  the 
last  representative  of  the  26th  Dynasty,  at  Pelusium,  in 
the  eastern  Delta.  By  moderation  and  justice,  the  Per- 
sian kings  came  to  be  recognized  as  the  successors  of 
the  old  Pharaohs  of  Egypt,  and,  with  some  interrup- 
tions, they  ruled  the  country  from  Cambyses’s  victory 
until  338  B.  C.,  almost  200  years.  They  are  called 
the  27th  Dynasty,  and  the  native  princes  of  the  Delta 
cities,  who  rebelled  against  them  from  time  to  time, 
succeeded  in  setting  up  the  ephemeral  28th,  29th  and 
30th  Dynasties,  all  of  which  fall  within  the  period  of 
Persian  rule.  Of  these  last  dynasties,  only  one  king, 
Nektanebos,  succeeded  in  gaining  any  great  power  or 
the  sovereignty  of  the  whole  country.  This  king,  under 
whom  a faint  revival  of  the  old  glory  flickered  fitfully 
for  a few  years,  built  the  beautiful  temple  of  Philae. 
which  we  shall  visit. 


The  Greek  Period 

332—30  B.  C. 

With  the  overthrow  of  the  Persians  by  Alexander 
the  Great,  Egypt  was  incorporated  into  his  vast  king- 
dom without  resistance  in  332  B.  C.  He  founded 
Alexandria  in  the  same  year,  and  it  soon  became  the 
centre  of  Mediterranean  commerce.  On  the  division 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


39 


of  his  kingdom,  Egypt  fell  to  Ptolemy,  one  of  Alexan- 
der’s generals,  who  gradually  assumed  royal  preroga- 
tives and  became  Ptolemy  I,  the  founder  of  the  Ptole- 
maic Dynasty.  The  family  at  times  developed  great 
power  and  ruled  the  old  Asiatic  dominions  of  Egypt 
as  far  as  the  upper  Euphrates.  Ptolemy  I founded  in 
Alexandria  the  Museum,  containing  a great  library  and 
commanding  liberal  endowments  for  the  support  of 
scholars  and  men  of  literature  and  science.  Such  pat- 
ronage was  continued  by  his  successors,  and  Alexan- 
dria thus  became  the  greatest  seat  of  learning  in  an- 
tiquity. But  his  later  descendants  were  often  guilty 
of  the  grossest  misgovernment,  cruelty,  and  neglect, 
under  which  the  country  gradually  declined.  But  they 
were  all  regarded  as  the  legitimate  successors  of  the 
old  Pharaohs ; they  respected  the  old  religion  and  built 
splendid  temples,  of  which  we  shall  find  impressive 
examples  when  we  ascend  the  Nile  in  our  tour  of  the 
country.  Finally,  as  Rome  rose,  she  mingled  more 
and  more  freely  in  the  affairs  of  the  Ptolemies,  until, 
after  the  romantic  career  and  tragic  death  of  Cleopatra, 
the  last  of  the  Ptolemaic  line,  Egypt  became  a Roman 
province  in  30  B.  C. 

The  Roman  Period 

30  B.  C.—640  A.  D. 

The  Roman  emperors  were  now  regarded  as  the 
Pharaohs  of  the  land,  which  they  ruled  by  means  of 
governors,  called  prefects.  Egypt,  the  once  powerful 
nation,  settled  down  into  much  the  same  condition  in 
which  she  now  is.  The  fertile  valley  became  the 
granary  of  Europe,  and  the  recognized  source  of  paper, 
made  from  papyrus  reeds,  which  it  had  begun  to  export 
as  early  as  1100  B.  C. ; but  the  spirit  of  the  old  arts,  and 
the  mighty  architecture  had  fallen  forever  asleep.  The 
land  was  now  visited  by  wealthy  Greek  and  Roman 
tourists,  who  ascended  the  river  and  admired  its  mar- 
vels, as  Cook’s  thousands  do  at  the  present  day. 


40 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


Christianity  spread  rapidly,  in  spite  of  frequent  perse- 
cution by  the  Roman  emperors,  until,  under  Theo- 
dosius I (379-395  A.  D.),  the  magnificent  temples  of 
the  Pharaohs  were  forever  closed.  The  conflicts 
among  the  Christians  themselves  on  questions  of  doc- 
trine, and  the  vast  number  of  ascetics  in  the  innumer- 
able monasteries,  involved  Alexandria  in  constant 
broils,  which,  with  the  persecution  of  the  Jews,  her 
best  merchants,  made  the  continuance  of  her  commer- 
cial supremacy  impossible.  With  the  partition  of  the 
Roman  Empire  in  395  A.  D.,  Egypt  became  a portion 
of  the  Eastern  or  Byzantine  dominion,  with  its  capital 
at  Constantinople.  Declining  steadily  in  power  and  in- 
itiative, the  Egypt  of  this  period  has  left  very  few 
monuments,  and  we  shall  find  little  to  remind  us  of 
it  as  we  pass  through  the  country. 

The  Moslem  Period 

640— 1517  A.  D. 

Eight  years  after  the  death  of  Mohammed,  which 
occurred  in  632  A.  D.,  Amr  ibn  el-  As,  the  general  of 
the  second  caliph,  Omar,  marched  against  the  now 
entirely  Christianized  Egypt,  and  made  complete  con- 
quest of  the  country.  The  caliphs  governed  it  with 
justice  and  discretion  by  means  of  governors,  but  as 
the  caliphate  declined  and  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad  be- 
came mere  puppets  in  the  hands  of  their  governors 
and  generals,  the  governors  of  Egypt  made  themselves 
independent  rulers  of  the  country,  and  the  first  dynasty 
of  such  independent  monarchs  was  founded  by  Ibn 
Tulun,  in  868  A.  D.  We  shall  later  see  his  mosque, 
which  is  the  oldest  building  in  Cairo.  Under  the 
Fatimids,  who  ruled  from  969  to  1171  A.  D.,  Cairo 
was  founded  (969  A.  D.),  and  rapidly  grew  to  be  an 
important  city  in  the  Moslem  world.  With  the  over- 
throw of  the  Fatimids  by  the  famous  Saladin,  a Turk, 
in  1171  A.  D.,  Egypt  again  ruled  Syria  to  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Euphrates.  But  Saladin  introduced  as 
his  trained  body-guard  a multitude  of  white  slaves,  who 
are  called  Mamlukes  in  Arabic.  Rewarded  with  lands 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


41 


by  the  Sultan  and  forced  to  render  him  a certain  quota 
of  troops  each  year,  these  white  slaves  soon  became  a 
body  of  rich  and  powerful  feudal  nobles,  who  made 
sultans  as  often  as  they  pleased,  and  no  sooner  had 
one  of  their  number  succeeded  in  gaining  the  coveted 
crown,  than  he  was  assassinated  or  displaced  by 
another,  unless  he  was  a man  of  unusual  strength  and 
initiative.  They  overthrew  the  Eyyubid  Dynasty  (as 
that  of  Saladin  is  called)  in  1240  A.  D.,  and  they  ruled 
the  country  until  1517.  Some  of  them  were  strong  and 
able  men,  who  did  much  for  the  country  and  greatly 
encouraged  art  and  letters.  Under  them  in  the  four- 
teenth century  Cairo  became  what  we  shall  find  it,  and 
its  most  beautiful  mosques  were  the  work  of  these 
rulers.  Christianity,  though  often  tolerated  and  some- 
times treated  with  great  liberality,  was  also  severely 
persecuted.  Islam  had  long  since  gained  a large  ma- 
jority of  the  population,  and  the  Christians,  now  called 
Copts,  gradually  diminished  in  numbers  under  perse- 
cution. The  old  language  of  the  Pharaohs,  which  had 
been  slowly  yielding  to  the  Arabic  for  centuries,  now 
gave  way  entirely  and  was  spoken  only  in  a few  remote 
villages,  as  in  modern  times  the  ancient  Keltic  lan- 
guage of  Ireland  is  spoken.  It  had  long  ceased  to  be 
written,  either  in  hieroglyphic,  or  its  cursive  forms, 
hieratic  and  demotic,  but  for  a thousand  years  the 
Egyptians  had  employed  Greek  letters  in  the  writing 
of  their  ancient  language,  as  we  employ  Roman  let- 
ters in  writing  English.  In  the  translations  of  the 
Bible  and  in  the  church  ritual,  this  form,  written  with 
Greek  letters  and  called  Coptic,  continued  to  be  used : 
but  by  the  close  of  the  Mamluke  domination  the  old 
language  of  the  monuments  vanished  completely  as  a 
spoken  tongue,  and  Arabic  became  the  language  of 
Egypt.  But  Coptic  is  still  used  in  reading  the  church 
service,  and  in  the  Coptic  churches  you  may  still  hear 
the  language  of  the  monuments ; but  the  listening  con- 
gregation does  not  understand  it  any  more  than  a 
Roman  Catholic  congregation  in  Italy  understands  the 
service  of  their  church  in  Latin,  though  that  tongue 
was  once  the  common  language  of  the  country. 


42 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


The  Turkish  Period 

1517  to  the  Present 

In  1517  the  Mamlukes  were  defeated  by  the  Turks, 
and  although  they  long  continued  powerful  in  Egy'p- 
tian  politics,  Egypt  became  a province  of  Turkey,  and 
a victim  of  the  misrule  to  which  all  Turkish  provinces 
are  so  often  subject.  The  Turkish  Sultan’s  grasp  upon 
the  country  was  often  so  loose,  that  his  authority  was 
merely  nominal,  and  after  the  ephemeral  French  occu- 
pation under  Napoleon  (1798-1801),  terminated  by  the 
British,  a young  and  obscure  Roumelian  named  Mo- 
hammed Ali,  a colonel  in  the  Albanian  division  of  the 
Turkish  army,  succeeded  in  gaining  the  upper  hand 
and  founding  a new  dynasty  in  Egypt,  which  is  still 
on  the  throne.  In  1811  he  exterminated  the  Mam- 
lukes ; and  but  for  the  interference  of  Europe  after  he 
had  gained  possession  of  Syria  he  might  have  over- 
thrown the  Sultan,  whose  European  territory  he  was 
preparing  to  invade.  His  family  has  since  secured 
from  the  Sultan  the  title  of  Khedive,  or  viceroy,  which 
is  now  hereditary  in  the  dynasty.  Financial  extrava- 
gance and  hostility  to  European  influence  finally  forced 
the  English  and  French  to  interfere,  and  in  1881,  the 
French  having  withdrawn,  the  English  bombarded 
Alexandria,  and,  landing,  defeated  the  Egyptian  leader 
Arabi  Pacha  at  Tell  el-Kebir.  Since  then  Egypt  has 
been  under  British  influence  to  such  an  extent  that  it 
amounts  to  a British  protectorate.  English  rule,  how- 
ever, received  a rude  setback  in  the  Sudan  rebellion. 
The  country  on  the  upper  Nile,  to  a frontier  some  dis- 
tance above  the  two  Niles,  had  been  gained  for  Egypt 
by  Mohammed  Ali  and  his  descendants;  but  in  1883 
a religious  enthusiast  named  Mohammed  Ahmed,  who 
called  himself  Mahdi  (“the  Guided”),  succeeded  in 
stirring  up  a widespread  rebellion,  in  opposing  which, 
the  great  Englishman,  General  Gordon,  perished.  The 
whole  Sudan  was  lost  to  Egypt,  and  the  southern 
frontier  was  at  Wadi  Haifa  by  the  second  cataract, 
until  Sir  (now  Lord)  Herbert  Kitchener,  after  com- 
pleting the  railroad  across  the  desert  from  Wadi  Haifa 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


43 


/ 

to  Abu  Hammed,  defeated  the  Mahdist  forces  in  1898, 
and  recovered  the  Sudan.  British  rule  has  been  an 
unquestionable  blessing  for  Egypt,  and  the  country  is 
now  enjoying  a prosperity,  and  financial  stability  which 
it  has  never  before  possessed. 

Look  back  for  one  moment  through  this  long  line 
of  foreign  conquerors,  who  have  entered  Egypt  since 
the  glory  of  the  first  great  empire  under  the  18th  and 
19th  Dynasties  faded  and  disappeared.  One  after 
another  they  have  entered  and  marched  across  the 
Delta  for  3,000  years ; Libyans,  Nubians,  Assyrians, 
Persians,  Greeks,  Romans,  Arabs,  Turks,  French  and 
English.  Of  all  these  we  shall  find  some  remains  as  we 
journey  through  the  country,  and  in  no  other  land  can 
we  find  a succession  of  kings  and  dynasties  or  a series 
of  monuments  embracing  such  a wide  span  of  centuries 
as  in  the  Nile  valley. 

A chronological  table  will  enable  you  to  follow  the 
whole  period  of  Egyptian  history  with  greater  clear- 
ness. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 


The  Predyaastic  Kingdoms 

Year 

B.  C. 

4241.  Introduction  of  the  Calendar. 

The  Earliest  Dynasties  (/  and  2);  Supremacy  of 
Thinis 

3400.  Beginning  of  the  dynasties  under  Menes. 

The  Old  Kingdom  {Dynasties  3-6) ; Supremacy  of 
Memphis 

2980.  Beginning  of  the  Old  Kingdom,  with  the  rise  of 
the  3rd  Dynasty. 

2445.  Fall  of  the  Old  Kingdom. 

Middle  Kingdom  (Dynasties  11-13);  Supremacy  of 
Thebes 

21G0.  Rise  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  with  the  beginning 
of  the  11th  Dynasty. 

2000.  Accession  of  the  12th  Dynasty,  the  great  dy- 
nasty of  the' Middle  Kingdom. 

1788.  Close  of  the  12th  Dynasty,  bringing  in  the  de- 
cline of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  followed  by  the 
Hykso'S  domination. 

The  Empire  (Dynasties  18-20);  Supremacy  of  Thebes 

1580.  Rise  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  expulsion  of  the 
Hyksos  and  beginning  of  the  Empire. 

1350.  Close  of  the  18th  Dynasty  and  loss  of  Asiatic 
conquests. 

1350.  Rise  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  followed  by  recovery 
of  Palestine  and  war  with  the  Hittites ; Sethos 
I,  Ramses  II. 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


45 


Year 

B.C. 

1205.  Fall  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  and  after  an  interval 
the  accession  of  the  20th ; Ramses  III. 

The  Decadence  (Dynasties  20-25) 

1150.  Final  loss  of  Asiatic  conquests;  beginning  of  the 
decadence. 

1090.  Usurpation  of  the  priest-kings  at  Thebes,  and 
succession  of  the  21st  Dynasty  in  the  Delta. 

945.  Fall  of  the  21st  Dynasty,  and  accession  of  the 
Libyans  as  the  22nd  Dynasty. 

732.  Invasion  of  the  Nubians  and  Nubian  domina- 
tion, continued  with  interruptions  during  the 
23rd  and  24th  dynasties  of  Delta  princes;  the 
Nubians  themselves  being  the  25th  Dynasty. 

670.  First  Assyrian  invasion  under  Esarhaddon. 

663.  Last  Assyrian  invasion  under  Ashurbanipal  and 
overthrow  of  the  Nubians. 

The  Restoration  (26th  Dynasty) 

663.  Accession  of  the  26th  Dynasty,  and  beginning  of 
the  Restoration. 

525.  Fall  of  the  26th  Dynasty  and  close  of  the 
Restoration  period. 

The  Persian  Period  (27th  Dynasty) 

525.  Accession  of  Cambyses  after  the  battle  of 
Pelusium. 

404  to  343.  Native  Dynasties  (28,  29  and  30)  striv- 
ing to  expel  the  Persians. 

332.  Alexander  the  Great  entered  and  seized  Egypt. 

The  Greek  Period,  or  Dynasty  of  the  Ptoiemies 

332.  Foundation  of  Alexandria. 

323.  Death  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  accession  of 
Ptolemy  I as  Satrap. 

30.  Death  of  Cleopatra  and  close  of  Ptolemaic  rule. 

The  Roman  Period 

30.  The  first  Roman  prefect,  Cornelius  Gallus,  en- 
ters Egypt. 


46 


THE  STORY  OF  EGYPT 


A.  D. 

324.  Accession  of  Constantine;  the  first  Christian 
Emperor. 

379.  Accession  of  Theodosius  I,  who  declared  Chris- 
tianity the  religion  of  the  empire  and  closed 
the  temples  of  the  old  religions. 

395.  Partition  of  the  Roman  empire  and  accession  of 
the  Byzantine  emperors  at  Constantinople. 

The  Moslem  or  Mohammedan  Period 

640.  Conquest  of  Egypt  by  the  Moslems ; first  Moslem 
governor. 

868.  Accession  of  the  Tulunids,  the  first  independent 
Moslem  rulers  of  Egypt. 

969-1171.  The  Fatimids. 

1171-1250.  The  Eyyubids,  or  Dynasty  of  Saladin. 
1240-1517.  The  Mamlukes. 

1517  to  the  present.  Turkish  rule. 

1798-1801.  French  occupation. 

1805-1848.  Mohammed  Ali. 

1881.  Battle  of  Tell  el-Kebir  and  beginning  of  British 
control. 

1883.  Rebellion  of  the  Mahdi  in  the  Sudan. 

1885.  Death  of  Gordon  and  fall  of  Khartum. 

1898.  Defeat  of  the  Mahdists  and  recovery  of  the 
Sudan. 

The  monuments  in  the  country  so  constantly  illus- 
trate its  history  that  many  important  events  and 
periods  will  be  discussed  as  we  stand  before  these 
monuments  themselves.  This  method  will  render  the 
great  epochs  of  Egyptian  history  much  clearer,  and 
many  of  the  greatest  events  are  reserved  for  discussion 
in  the  presence  of  such  contemporary  monuments. 


THE  ITINERARY 


Together  we  are  about  to  make  the  tour  of  a re- 
markable river  valley,  more  thickly  strewn  with  monu- 
ments of  early  civilization  than  is  any  land  in  all  the 
world.  We  are  not  (actually)  to  enter  the  country  in 
the  body,  but  this  will  make  no  difference,  if  we  can 
obtain  the  experiences,  the  states  of  consciousness,  of 
being  there.  Such  experiences  are  obtainable  by  the 
right  use  of  the  stereoscope,  the  stereographs  and  the 
accompanying  maps.  Though  we  do  not  actually  walk 
from  place  to  place,  still  we  shall  know  what  it  means 
to  stand  in  one  hundred  different  places  in  the  valley, 
and  if  you  note  carefully  where  we  stand  in  each  case, 
you  will  be  making  the  tour  of  the  country  with  very 
many,  if  not  all,  of  the  experiences  which  you  would 
gain  by  an  actual  visit.  We  shall  view  what  we  are  to 
see,  particularly  the  monuments,  in  a number  of  differ- 
ent aspects. 

First,  Locality.  We  must  in  every  case  study  the 
particular  part  of  Egypt  we  are  viewing  in  relation 
to  its  surroundings.  With  your  eyes  within  the  hood 
of  the  instrument  (stereoscope)  you  must  consider 
carefully  the  various  relations  of  the  prospect  before 
you,  the  direction  in  which  you  are  looking,  what  lies 
beyond  a distant  horizon,  what  is  to  the  right,  left,  or 


48 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


behind  you.  On  the  Nile  we  are  especially  blessed 
with  important  and  always  present  elements  of  the 
geography,  by  means  of  which  we  shall  be  able  to 
locate  ourselves.  We  must  always  ask,  where  is  the 
river?  on  which  side  of  it  are  we?  where  are  the  east- 
ern walls  of  the  canon?  where  are  the  western  walls? 
where  is  the  desert?  for  these  things  are  practically 
always  with  us,  as  soon  as  we  have  passed  from  the 
Delta  into  the  valley.  Further,  when  a number  of 
standpoints  are  in  localities  contiguous  or  partially 
identical,  we  must  ask  ourselves  in  every  case  as  we 
look  out  over  the  new  prospect,  where  did  we  stand 
in  our  last  position  ? Even  when  the  distance  from  the 
last  position  is  many  miles,  if  you  think  in  what  direc- 
tion it  now  lies,  you  will  be  able  to  connect  the  one 
hundred  points  of  view  into  a coherent  whole,  and  into 
a definite  progress  through  the  land  in  a real  and  con- 
nected tour. 

Second,  History.  Having  considered  place,  we  must 
turn  to  time,  which  really  means  history.  In  most  cases 
the  part  of  Egypt  before  us  will  contain  some  great  mon- 
ument marking  an  important  historical  event  or  period 
or  a series  of  these.  The  main  epochs  of  Egyptian 
history  can  be  made  so  familiar  to  you  in  a short  time, 
that  you  will  be  able  to  place  every  monument,  not 
merely  in  its  proper  locality  in  the  Nile  valley,  but'  be 
able  to  see  it  also  in  its  great  historical  perspective. 
The  conversation  which  we  shall  hold  together  at  each 
place  will  be  such,  that  when  your  memory  fails  you, 
the  place  of  the  monument  will  be  suggested  and  re- 
called. 

Third,  Art.  Many  of  the  monuments  upon  which 
we  shall  look  are  valuable,  and  sometimes  phenomenal 
works  of  art.  Let  us  always  think  of  their  value  and 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


49 


meaning  as  such;  let  us  not  imagine  that  the  form  of 
the  object  before  us  has  always  existed  as  a matter  of 
course,  but  let  us  remember  that  many  of  the  things 
which  we  shall  see,  did  not  exist  until  they  were  con- 
ceived by  the  mind  of  the  Egyptian,  and  thus  a great 
contribution  was  made  to  later  human  culture,  which 
has  profited  by  the  genius  of  the  Egyptian. 

Fourth,  Mechanics.  We  shall  find  in  the  Nile  valley 
some  of  the  greatest  mechanical  achievements  of  man ; 
and  indeed  the  greatest  in  oriental  antiquity.  Let  us 
always  think  of  the  mighty  works  which  we  are  to  see 
in  this  aspect  also,  realizing  that  many  of  the  processes 
employed  were  first  evolved  and  used  by  the  Egyptians. 

If  we  observe  these  precautions  we  shall  finally 
come  to  see  all  these  things  as  human  documents,  the 
offspring  of  the  mind  of  ancient  man,  and  frequently 
opening  to  us  the  possibilities  of  that  mind,  as  a literary 
document  could  not  do,  however  superior  the  literary 
documents  in  most  cases  may  be.  Doing  this  we  shall 
not  be  making  merely  a local  progress  through  the 
country,  but  we  shall  also  follow  the  career  of  its  people 
through  the  ages  and  gain  a comprehensive  concep- 
tion of  Egypt,  not  merely  as  a land  and  a place,  but 
also  as  a great  first  chapter  in  the  fascinating  story 
of  man. 

But  the  first  condition  leading  up  to  this  mental  con- 
quest is  to  place  ourselves  at  the  point  of  view,  to  ob- 
tain a vivid  sense  of  location  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  Africa,  with  eyes  in  the  hood  of  the  instru- 
ment, forgetting  that  we  are  sitting  in  aii  arm- 
chair in  modern  America,  as  we  look  out  over  prospect 
after  prospect  in  the  Nile  valley.  If  you  will  but  be- 
lieve it,  you  will  have  experiences  of  looking  through 
a window,  from  which  all  that  might  be  seen  on  the 


50 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


spot  will  appear  in  its  proper  dimensions.  In  my  opin- 
ion there  is  no  other  means  of  obtaining  impressions 
like  those  of  standing  on  the  actual  spot,  anywhere 
near  as  perfect  as  those  to  be  obtained  by  the  right 
use  of  the  stereoscope  and  this  map  system.  Above 
all,  do  not  look  at  a place  for  a careless  few  seconds 
and  throw  it  down  in  disappointment,  but  follow  with 
me  the  points  which  we  are  to  note  together  and  find 
them  in  every  case  either  in  the  scene  or  on  a map; 
and  when  you  have  done  this,  then  follow  them  all 
through  again,  noting  each  detail  as  you  pass  it.  You 
will  be  surprised  to  find  after  you  have  done  this,  how 
much  each  section  of  the  land  has  come  to  mean,  what 
an  intelligible  story  it  tells  and  how  much  more  there 
is  in  it  than  you  supposed  beforehand.  If  you  do  this 
for  every  one  of  the  outlooks  from  the  one  hundred 
points  of  view,  you  will  have  become  more  familiar 
with  Egypt  than  most  tourists  in  that  country,  who 
usually  read  so  rapidly  on  the  spot  and  are  hurried 
about  at  such  a rate,  that  they  bring  home  only  blurred 
and  confused  impressions  of  what  they  have  seen. 
Furthermore,  wherever  your  memory  later  fails  you, 
you  have  only  to  return  to  the  spot  by  means  of  the 
stereoscope  and  renew  your  impression,  which  the  tour- 
ist cannot  do. 

Finally,  make  constant  and  rej>eated  use  of  all  the 
maps ; never  take  a position  without  having  first  found 
it  on  the  map,  if  it  is  there  at  all  (only  two  or  three 
are  not  marked  with  red  lines  on  the  maps),  and  then 
compare  it  with  the  last  point  of  view  as  to  distance, 
direction,  etc.  Frequent  references  are  made  to  the 
maps  in  the  texts,  but  it  has  been  impossible  to  refer  to 
them  in  every  line  where  they  should  be  used.  It  is 
impossible  to  use  them  too  much,  and  it  will  be  found 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


51 


very  useful  to  have  the  map  open  before  you  on  the 
table  constantly,  turning  it  around  as  you  take  each 
new  position,  so  that  you  have  the  apex  of  the  red  V, 
marking  out  the  direction  and  field  of  your  vision, 
pK>inting  toward  you.  You  will  then  be  looking  across 
the  map  in  the  same  direction  in  which  you  are  look- 
ing, in  that  particular  view  in  Egypt;  and  right  and 
left,  in  front  and  behind,  as  you  find  them  mentioned 
in  the  book,  will  exactly  correspbnd  on  the  map ; even 
though  some  of  the  print  on  the  map  may  often  be 
upside  down. 

Let  us  now  open  the  large  map  (3),  and  trace  the 
route  which  we  are  to  follow  through  the  country.  We 
shall  land  at  Alexandria,  proceed  by  rail  to  Cairo, 
where  we  pass  from  the  Delta  into  the  canon  of  the 
river.  From  Cairo,  after  a short  study  of  the  town 
and  some  of  the  important  monuments  in  the  museum, 
we  shall  visit  the  surrounding  points  of  interest;  the 
pyramids,  Memphis,  Heliopolis  with  its  solitary  obe- 
lisk, the  quarries  from  which  the  stone  of  the  pyramids 
was  taken,  and  the  city  of  Pithom  to  the  northeast, 
built  by  the  Hebrews.  Leaving  Cairo  and  beginning 
the  voyage  of  the  river,  we  shall  visit  the  Fayum,  the 
great  oasis  on  the  west  side  of  the  river ; and  the  south 
end  of  the  line  of  pyramids.  Then,  passing  these  monu- 
ments of  the  Old  and  Middle  Kingdom,  we  reach  the 
tombs  of  Benihasan;  then  the  tombs  of  Assiut,  over 
two  hundred  miles  above  Cairo,  with  suggestions  of 
the  coming  rise  of  Thebes ; then  entering  the  great 
Theban  period,  we  visit  our  first  temple  at  Abydos, 
and,  after  a brief  visit  at  Dendera,  we  reach  Thebes 
itself.  Here  we  shall  spend  a long  time,  studying 
first  the  east  and  then  the  west  side  of  the  river,  After 


52 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


a visit  at  El-Kab  and  Edfu,  fifty  miles  or  so  above 
Thebes,  we  shall  reach  the  first  cataract,  where  we 
shall  visit  Assuan,  Elephantine,  and  beautiful  Philae. 
We  then  enter  Nubia  and  shall  stop  at  Kalabesheh  and 
Kasr  Ibrim  on  our  way  to  Abu  Simbel  and  its  great 
cliff  temple.  We  shall  then  have  followed  the  Nile 
River  from  the  mouth  to  the  vicinity  of  the  second 
cataract.  Leaving  the  Nile  at  Wadi  Haifa,  we  shall 
pass  over  the  desert  railway  from  there  to  Abu  Ham- 
med, cutting  off  the  great  bend  of  the  river,  on  our 
way  to  Khartum,  but  shall  make  no  stop  until  the 
last-named  place  is  reached.  We  shall  look  at  the 
tomb  of  the  Mahdi,  at  Omdurman,  opposite  Khartum, 
and  view  the  palace  of  the  governor  of  the  Sudan  in 
Khartum  itself.  Here  our  voyage  will  end ; or  you 
can  follow  it  back  to  the  Mediterranean  through  the 
same  places  if  you  wish.  You  will  find  nearly  all  the 
places  which  we  visit  underlined  with  red  on  this  map, 
and  this  will  enable  you  to  find  the  points  without  diffi- 
culty. If  you  notice  any  slight  difference  in  spelling 
on  the  various  maps,  this  is  due  to  the  fact  that  these 
names  are  all  Arabic,  and  that  it  is  therefore  possible 
to  put  them  into  English  in  several  different  forms. 
As  our  maps  are  from  different  sources,  and  made  by 
different  men,  uniformity  was  impossible. 

Turn  now  to  Alexandria.  There  we  are  to  stand 
and  look  north  toward  the  Mediterranean.* 


•DETAILS  TO  BE  OBSERVED. 

First — Move  the  slide,  or  carrier,  vrhich  holds  the  stereograph,  to  the 
point  on  the  shaft  of  the  stereoscope  where  the  subjects  in  the  scene  can 
be  seen  most  distinctly. 

Second — ^Have  a strong,  steady  light  on  the  stereograph.  This  is  often 
best  obtainable  by  sitting  with  the  window  or  lamp  at  one  side,  letting 
the  light  fall  over  the  shoulder. 

Third — Hold  the  stereoscope  with  the  hood  close  against  the  forehead 
pnd  temples,  shutting  off  entirely  all  immediate  surroundings. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


53 


Position  1.  Pompey’s  Pillar,  the  sailors’  land- 
mark, and  modern  Alexandria,  north  toward 
the  sea 

We  have  taken  our  stand  out  here  on  the  south  of 
the  city  in  the  quiet  sunshine,  where  we  are  gradually 
to  realize  that  we  are  actually  in  the  land  of  the 
Pharaohs,  and  really  about  to  visit  the  innumerable 
marvels  of  this  land  of  many  wonders.  Over  behind 
these  houses  is  the  sea  across  which  we  have  come, 
for  we  are  looking  almost  exactly  northward.  Yon- 
der, then,  to  the  northwest,  is  distant  Europe  (Map 
1),  and  behind  us  is  the  fan-shaped  Delta,  gradually 
narrowing  into  the  long  valley  or  canon  of  the  Nile, 
which  we  are  to  traverse  to  the  union  of  the  two  Niles, 
1,500  miles  south  of  this  city.  We  stand  then  with 
the  whole  African  continent  behind  us  (Map  1),  out 
of  the  heart  of  which  the  Nile  issues,  and  we  look 
toward  Europe  across  this  world-famous  city,  which 
was  the  chief  instrument  in  uniting  the  civilization  of 
the  two  continents.  For  it  was  the  intention  of  Alex- 
ander the  Great,  when  he  founded  this  city  in  332 
B.  C.,  to  make  it  the  link,  which  by  commercial  and 
other  activities  should  weld  Egypt  into  the  great 
Greek  world-empire  which  he  planned.  His  conquest 
of  Egypt  and  his  foundation  of  this  city  marked  a new 
epoch  for  Egypt,  and  drew  her  forever  into  the  tur- 
moils of  European  history,  which  she  had  hitherto 
escaped. 

Under  the  Greek  Dynasty  founded  by  Alexan- 
der’s general,  Ptolemy,  son  of  Lagus,  and  from  him 
called  the  Ptolemaic  Dynasty,  this  city  rose  rapidly 
till  it  became  not  merely  the  most  powerful  commer- 
cial centre,  but  also  the  gi'eatest  seat  of  learning  in 
the  ancient  world  of  that  day.  The  Ptolemies  endowed 


Position  1.  Maps  I,  3. 


54  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

a great  institution  here  known  as  the  “Museum,”  and 
made  it  the  home  of  salaried  scholars  for  the  further- 
ance of  science  and  literature.  In  connection  with  it 
was  a great  library,  the  first  notable  library  known 
in  history,  which,  when  it  was  burned  in  the  time  of 
Caesar,  contained  no  less  than  900,000  rolls.  Beside 
many  magnificent  public  buildings,  and  the  tomb  of 
Alexander,  who  was  buried  here,  there  was  a temple 
to  Serapis,  which  surpassed  anything  of  the  kind  in  the 
orient.  The  city  was  visited  by  many  Roman  emperors, 
and  maintained  its  superiority  as  an  intellectual  centre 
until  the  rise  of  Constantinople  dimmed  its  lustre. 

The  introduction  of  Christianity  resulted  in  so  many 
tumults  of  the  turbulent  monks,  that  the  city  gradually 
declined  also  in  material  prosperity.  Finally  the  dis- 
covery of  a sea  route  to  India  diverted  all  its  transit 
trade  between  India  and  Europe,  to  the  Cape  route, 
and  Alexandria  fell  on  evil  days.  Under  Turkish 
sway  it  went  from  bad  to  worse,  having  not  over  5,000 
inhabitants  at  the  beginning  of  the  19th  century,  but 
the  progressive  and  energetic  Mohammed  Ali  then 
came  to  its  rescue,  and  by  new  canals  and  docks 
brought  the  long  period  of  decay  tO'  an  end,  and  saved 
the  city  from  extinction.  It  has  since  then  continued 
to  prosper,  and  with  320,000  inhabitants,  of  whom 
seven-eighths  are  native  and  the  rest  European,  it  is  a 
fine  monument  to  the  great  conqueror  who  founded  it. 

The  shaft  before  us  was  erected  as  a landmark  for 
sailors  by  one  of  the  Roman  governors  of  Egypt,  and 
in  392  A.  D.  one  of  his  successors  placed  a statue  of 
the  emperor  Diocletian  upon  it,  which  has  since  dis- 
appeared. In  the  Middle  Ages  it  was  mistakenly  con- 
nected with  the  tomb  of  Pompey,  who  was  murdered 


Position  I.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


55 


on  this  coast,  and  is  therefore  called  “Pompey’s  Pil- 
lar,” just  as  the  New  York  obelisk  which  once  stood 
here  on  the  beach  north  of  us  was  called  Cleopatra’s 
Needle,  although  Cleopatra  never  had  anything  to  do 
with  it.  This  column  is  the  only  surviving  monument 
of  any  size  from  the  days  of  Alexandria’s  splendor. 
It  is  89  feet  high,  while  the  shaft  alone,  which  is  cut 
in  one  piece,  is  69  feet  high.  In  the  base  there  have 
been  used  blocks  from  older  buildings,  one  of  which 
bears  the  name  of  Sethos  I,  of  the  14th  century  B.  C. 
We  are  introduced  by  this  monument  to  the  Graeco- 
Roman  world,  which  followed  the  older  Oriental 
supremacy;  but  as  we  go  through  Cairo,  we  shall  see 
how  Islam  brought  in  a revival  of  Oriental  power, 
which  again  eclipsed  that  of  the  Graeco-Roman  age, 
up>on  which  Islam  and  its  prophet  Mohammed  fol- 
lowed. For  one  of  the  results  of  the  Moslem  invasion 
was  the  foundation  of  Cairo,  which  we  shall  now 
visit. 

Follow  on  Map  3 the  railroad  southward  from  Alex- 
andria, 129  miles  to  Cairo  at  the  southern  apex  of  the 
Delta.  Turn  then  to  Map  4,  “Environs  of  Cairo,”  where 
you  see,  Cairo  lies  close  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile. 
Find  the  two  red  lines,  numbered  2,  which  start  from 
the  citadel  on  the  southeast  side  of  the  city,  and  branch 
toward  the  northwest.  We  are  to  stand  now  at  the 
point  from  which  these  lines  diverge  and,  facing  north- 
west, look  over  that  portion  of  Cairo  and  the  country 
beyond,  which  the  lines  enclose. 


Position  1.  Maps  1,  3,  4. 


56  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Position  2,  Cairo,  home  of  the  Arabian  Nights, 
the  greatest  citij  of  Africa,  northivest  from 
Saladin’s  citadel  to  the  Nile 

Here  for  the  first  time  we  feel  the  charm  of  the 
Orient ! Spread  out  before  us  is  the  city  of  Moslem 
song  and  story,  the  greatest  seat  of  Saracen  art,  the 
home  of  the  Arabian  Nights.  For  two  miles  it 
stretches  out  before  us,  and  it  is  twice  as  long  the 
other  way.  Remember,  we  are  standing  at  the  eastern 
side,  looking  northwestward  from  the  southeastern 
comer  of  the  city.  Before  us  is  Alexandria,  130  miles 
away,  where  we  left  the  Mediterranean.  Our  route 
hither  lay  along  the  western  side  of  the  Delta,  which 
is  between  us  and  the  Mediterranean.  This  city  which 
we  overlook  is  located  a short  distance  above  the  south- 
ern apex  of  the  Delta,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Nile. 
We  cannot  see  the  river  itself  from  our  present  stand- 
point, but  we  can  locate  it  precisely.  Far  out  on  the 
further  edge  of  the  city,  to  the  left  of  the  taller  minaret 
on  this  nearest  mosque,  you  discern  a white  building 
with  a dome  in  the  centre.  That  is  the  new  museum, 
and  it  is  located  on  this  shore  of  the  river,  so  that  the 
Nile  flows  just  behind  it.  Beyond  the  museum  }'ou  see 
the  dark  line  of  palms  which  fringe  the  further  shore 
of  the  river  and  form  extensive  groves  there. 

The  course  of  the  river  is  here  due  north ; hence, 
as  we  look  westward  our  line  of  sight  is  across  it  at  an 
oblique  angle.  Here,  too,  though  you  perhaps  have  not 
yet  noted  it,  we  may  observe  how  we  have  entered  the 
vast  valley  or  canon  which  just  below  us  here  merges 
into  the  Delta.  Do  you  see  that  low,  gray  line  that 
rises  just  behind  the  dark  band  of  palm  forest  behind 
the  town  on  the  left?  That  is  the  cliff  forming  the 
western  wall  of  the  Nile  valley  (see  Map  4),  and  we 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGPI  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


57 


are  standing  upon  the  walls  of  a stronghold  that  rises 
upon  the  corresponding  eastern  cliff.  Between  these 
eastern  and  western  walls  lies  the  fertile  valley,  with 
the  Nile  flowing  much  nearer  the  eastern  than  the 
western  cliff ; for  those  western  bluffs  are  nearly  ten 
miles  away,  while  the  river  is  less  than  two  miles 
distant  from  us  as  we  stand  on  these  eastern  heights. 
Behind  those  distant  cliffs  is  the  vast  expanse  of  the 
Sahara  stretching  on  and  on  across  all  north  Africa 
to  the  far  Atlantic,  while  behind  us  is  the  same  desert 
interrupted  by  the  Red  Sea  and  extending  across  Ara- 
bia into  the  heart  of  Asia.  We  are  looking  across  the 
great  fertile  trench  which  the  Nile  has  cut  through 
this  desert  of  two  continents,  and  at  its  northern  end, 
where  it  merges  into  the  Delta,  here  at  our  feet,  lies 
the  city  of  Cairo.  Under  the  golden  sunshine  its  soft 
brown  domes  and  graceful,  slender  minarets  rise 
against  the  masses  of  whitewashed  dwellings  or  are 
confused  among  the  deep  shadows  and  sombre  walls 
of  sun-dried  brick  houses,  the  whole  forming  such  an 
oriental  picture  as  you  may  see  elsewhere  only  at 
Damascus. 

It  is  a romantic  story,  that  of  this  ancient  town. 
Far  back  in  the  days  of  those  pyramid-building  Pha- 
raohs, whose  marvelous  pyramids  out  yonder  on  that 
distant  cliff  in  the  west  we  shall  yet  see,  there  was  an 
insignificant  town,  somewhere  along  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  river,  known  as  the  “Place-of-the-Combat,”  be- 
cause it  was  told  in  mythic  story,  that  Horus  and  Set 
had  once  done  mortal  combat  here  for  the  supremacy 
of  the  Nile  valley.  A little  later,  in  the  third  millen- 
nium before  Christ,  the  great  city  in  this  vicinity  was 
Memphis,  on  the  other  side  along  the  distant  bluffs  a 
little  further  south,  where  we  shall  later  visit  it.  North 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


58  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

of  US  but  a few  miles  was  the  famous  city  of  the  sun, 
Heliopolis,  to  which  we  shall  also  pay  a visit  later  on ; 
but  the  oldest  monument  which  we  can  find  in  the  im- 
mediate suburbs  of  Cairo  is  out  here  on  our  left,  where 
out  of  range  lies  a wretched  little  settlement  known 
as  “Old  Cairo.”  (See  Map  4.)  There  in  the  days  of 
the  Greek  domination  in  Egypt  was  a town  of  some 
sort  which  they  called  Babylon,  doubtless  from  some 
fancied  resemblance  between  its  old  Egyptian  name 
and  Babylon  on  the  Euphrates.  There,  when  Egypt 
became  a Roman  province,  was  stationed  a Roman 
garrison  in  a fortress,  which  still  survives  as  the  old- 
est monument  in  the  history  of  Cairo.  In  640  A.  D., 
only  eight  years  after  Mohammed’s  death,  the  Caliph 
‘Omar  with  many  misgivings,  allowed  a little  band  of 
fiery  Arabs  under  Amr  ibn  el-As,  to  attempt  the  con- 
quest of  Egypt,  and  after  several  victories  before 
reaching  here,  they  besieged  the  Romans  in  the  fort- 
ress of  Babylon,  which  they  finally  took,  and  the  de- 
feated Romans  fled  to  Alexandria.  Amr,  so  the  story 
goes,  had  left  his  tent  standing  by  Babylon,  when  he 
pursued  the  Romans  to  Alexandria,  and  on  his  return 
he  began  a town  there,  which,  because  of  this  circum- 
stance, was  called  Fostat,  that  is,  “the  Tent.”  The 
“town  of  the  tent,”  which  was  the  first  Moslem  town 
here,  was  therefore  not  on  the  present  site  before  us, 
but  by  the  river  south  of  Cairo,  and  it  is  still  over  a 
mile  and  a half  from  the  southern  extension  of  the  city 
(on  our  left).  It  was  also  called  Misr,  the  Old  Testa- 
ment name  for  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  usual  designation 
for  Egypt  in  the  Koran,  and  the  name  Cairo  was  then 
unknown.  Misr  flourished,  and  became  a prospverous 
commercial  town,  filled  with  fine  houses  and  splendid 
bazaars.  But  in  1168  A.  D.,  when  Amalric,  the  Latin 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


59 


king  of  Jerusalem,  advanced  to  the  conquest  of  Egypt, 
it  was  burned  to  save  it  from  his  hands.  “Twenty 
thousand  naphtha  barrels  and  ten  thousand  torches 
were  lighted.  The  fire  lasted  fifty-four  days,  and  its 
traces  may  still  be  found  in  the  wilderness  of  sand-heaps 
stretching  over  miles  of  buried  rubbish  on  the  south 
side  of  Cairo.”  Thus  perished  a priceless  monument 
of  medijeval  Moslem  life  and  art. 

Cairo  had  already  been  founded  on  the  ground 
before  us.  From  the  beginning  the  caliph’s  governors 
and  commanders  had  been  accustomed  to  reside  here 
and  on  the  ground  between  here  and  Misr.  They 
gradually  drew  some  of  the  town  up  this  way.  Finally, 
when  the  new  dynasty  of  the  Fatimids  came  in  under 
el-Mu’izz,  in  969  A.  D.,  he  founded  here  a new  town, 
which  was  called  el-Kahira  (Cairo),  because  the 
planet  Mars,  known  as  the  “Conqueror”  (el-Kahira), 
was  in  the  ascendancy  at  the  laying  of  the  first  stones. 
The  people  from  burning  Misr  swelled  the  population 
of  the  already  considerable  town,  and  under  the  wealthy 
Fatimids  it  became  a beautiful  and  prosperous  metrop- 
olis. Next  to  nothing  of  this  early  Cairo  of  the 
Fatimids  now  survives ; the  city  upon  which  we  are 
looking  is  of  later  date ; of  this  later  city  we  shall  have 
more  to  say  as  we  pass  on. 

This  masonry  upon  which  we  stand,  is  part  of  the 
citadel  of  Cairo,  erected  by  Saladin  in  1176  A.  D.,  and 
its  erection  marks  the  beginning  of  the  later  Cairo 
which  we  have  before  us.  You  see  the  obsolete  bat- 
teries on  the  parapets  below  us  on  the  right.  Those 
two  curved  salients  beyond  the  guns,  defend  an  en- 
trance to  the  fortress  known  as  the  Bab  el-Azab,  over 
which  floats  the  flag  of  the  Turkish  Sultan,  with  its 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


60  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Star  and  crescent ; for  the  viceroy  of  Egypt  is  a vas- 
sal of  the  Turk.  That  Bab  el-Azab  gives  access  from 
the  fortress  to  the  park  below  us.  You  see  one  of  the 
two  white  sentry  boxes  below  at  the  door  of  the  fort- 
ress on  the  right.  Tlie  circular  park  with  its  rows  of 
trees  is  the  Place  Rumelah,  and  hither  each  year  the 
pilgrims  returning  from  Mecca  march  in  procession 
amid  great  public  rejoicing. 

The  most  prominent  building  before  us  is  the  su- 
perb mosque  of  Sultan  Hasan,  the  finest  example  of 
Saracen  architecture  in  Cairo,  and  perhaps  anywhere. 
It  was  built  in  1356  to  1359,  and  the  Sultan  was  so 
delighted  with  it  that  he  cut  off  the  right  hand  of  the 
architect,  under  the  impression  that  it  would  then  be 
impossible  for  the  unfortunate  man  ever  to  design 
another,  which  might  rival  it.  The  splendid  entrance 
on  the  other  side  is  85  feet  high,  and  the  massive  walls, 
113  feet  in  height,  are  built  of  stone  taken  from  the 
pyramids.  That  dome,  the  lines  of  which  are  not  a 
success,  is  a later  work,  for  unhappily  the  original 
dome  fell  in  1660,  and  was  later  restored.  Of  the  four 
minarets  designed  by  the  architect,  but  three  were 
erected,  and  one  of  these  fell  shortly  after  its  comple- 
tion and  killed  three  hundred  pupils  of  the  school  be- 
neath it.  One  of  the  remaining  two  had  to  be  rebuilt  in 
1659,  owing  to  an  earthquake,  and  was  made  too  small. 
Only  the  one  here  on  the  left  is  the  work  of  the  archi- 
tect. It  is  the  tallest  minaret  in  Cairo,  being  no  less 
than  270  feet  in  height.  Its  exposed  position  has  cost 
the  building  much  damage.  In  the  innumerable  con- 
flicts of  the  Mamlukes,  cannon  were  often  posted  upon 
the  roof  and  trained  upon  the  citadel  where  we  stand. 
Of  course,  the  defenders  of  the  citadel  responded  in 
kind,  and  cannon  shot  may  still  be  found  in  the  masonry 


Position  2,  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  G1 

of  the  fine  old  mosque.  “In  a quieter  situation  the 
mosque  might  have  escaped  injury,  but  even  as  it  is, 
scarred  with  bullets  and  lopped  of  its  original  dome 
and  minarets,  it  remains  the  most  superb  if  not  the 
most  beautiful  monument  of  Saracenic  art  in  the  four- 
teenth century.” 

This  heavy  flat-topped  building,  with  the  tall  arches 
on  the  right  of  the  Sultan  Hasan’s  mosque,  is  the 
mosque  or  monastery  of  the  Rifa'iyeh,  an  order  of 
dervishes  having  several  sects,  one  of  which  is  noted 
as  furnishing  the  performers  of  the  most  astonishing 
prodigies  on  the  occasion  of  any  public  procession. 
They  walk  before  the  procession,  thrusting  nails  into 
their  eyes,  swallowing  burning  charcoal  and  pieces  of 
glass,  or  they  lie  down  in  the  street  and  shatter  great 
stones  against  their  breasts.  To  another  sect  of  the 
same  order  belong  the  remarkable  snake  charmers, 
now  very  rarely,  if  ever,  seen  by  Europeans ; but  their 
remarkable  feats  are  vouched  for  by  credible  wit- 
nesses. The  numerous  men  and  boys  you  will  see 
about  the  streets  of  Cairo  now,  with  small  and  harm- 
less snakes,  are  not  to  be  confused  with  these  snake 
charmers  of  the  Rifa'iyeh.  Their  mosque  is  unfin- 
ished, as  you  see.  This  striped  mosque  beyond  the 
flagstaff  on  the  extreme  right  is  a modern  structure  of 
no  architectural  value. 

You  notice  that  no  domes  or  minarets  are  visible  along 
the  river,  the  native  town  being  here  on  the  east,  the 
nearer  side  of  the  city.  There  was  formerly  consider- 
able space  between  the  old  native  town  and  the  river. 
Within  fifty  years  this  has  been  taken  up  by  Europeans, 
whose  villas  now  stretch  north  and  south  and  bring  the 
town  down  to  the  river  on  the  west.  He  who  loves  the 
picturesque  native  life  will  mourn  to  see  it  thus  closely 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


62  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

crowded  by  the  prosaic  life  of  the  west,  but  fortunately 
the  Moslem  quarters  here  at  our  feet  keep  quite  aloof 
and  the  tenacity  with  which  they  cling  to  their  old 
ways  and  customs  is  surprising.  Of  the  600,000  in- 
habitants of  the  modern  city,  some  40,000  are  Euro- 
peans, and  their  influence  is,  of  course,  very  strong, 
working  great  changes  in  the  mediaeval  city,  which 
Cairo  still  was  only  fifty  years  ago.  But  in  spite  of 
these  powerful  foreign  influences,  this  old  city  still 
remains  the  center  of  orthodox  Moslem  learning.  It 
is  the  great  university  town  of  the  whole  Moslem 
world,  and  although  the  mosque  of  el-Azhar,  the 
building  in  which  the  university  is  located,  once  had 
probably  as  many  as  15,000  students,  it  still  has  some 
7,000  people  in  it,  including  over  200  professors.  The 
latter  still  continue  teaching  by  rote  the  mediaeval  learn- 
ing, which  has  always  formed  the  curriculum  of  the 
university. 

The  mosque  of  the  Sultan  Hasan  before  us  will 
answer  as  an  index  for  locating  some  of  the  chief 
points  in  the  modem  city.  The  peak  of  the  dome  just 
cuts  into  the  white  fagade  of  the  luxurious  Hotel 
Savoy,  one  of  the  several  magnificent  European  hotels 
now  to  be  found  in  Cairo.  Nearer  than  this  hotel,  and 
seen  between  the  dome  and  the  shorter  minaret,  is 
the  Abdin  Palace,  in  which  the  present  Khedive  or 
Viceroy  of  Egypt  resides.  At  the  right  of  the  tall 
minaret,  just  under  the  swell  of  the  lowest  balcony, 
is  another  palace,  once  ocaipied  by  the  Khedive 
Ismail  of  Suez  Canal  fame;  but  it  is  now  used  as  a 
hotel,  called  the  Gezireh  Palace  Hotel.  Gezireh  means 
“Island,”  and  the  place  is  so-called  because  it  stands 
upon  an  island  in  the  Nile.  We  shall  later  see  this 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


63 


island  and  the  bridge  leading  to  it.  The  large  white- 
domed  building  on  the  left  of  the  tall  minaret  we  have 
already  mentioned.  It  is  the  National  Museum  of 
Egypt,  recently  completed  and  occupied.  There  we  shall 
examine  some  of  the  treasures  which  it  contains  as  we 
go  past  on  our  way  out  to  the  great  pyramids.  To 
the  left  of  the  museum  you  may  faintly  discern  the 
long,  low  barracks  of  the  British  army  of  occupation. 
Behind  the  base  of  the  tall  minaret,  and  seen  over  the 
roof  of  the  mosque,  is  a grove,  on  the  further  edge  of 
which  (cut  by  the  minaret)  appears  the  vice-regal 
library,  rich  in  oriental  manuscripts.  Another  palace 
of  the  vice-regal  family  occupies  the  left  end  of  this 
grove.  Another  patch  of  grove  further  to  the  left,  and 
nearer  the  river  and  the  barracks,  marks  the  buildings 
of  the  different  Ministries  of  Justice,  Finance  and  the 
Interior,  and  Public  Works  and  War.  Out  of  range  on 
the  extreme  right  is  the  famous  Shepheard’s  Hotel, 
the  first  European  hotel  established  in  Cairo.  Thus 
the  world  of  modem  Europe  is  crowding  upon  mediae- 
val Cairo.  Every  winter  thousands  of  tourists  occupy 
the  hotels,  of  which,  besides  the  luxurious  places  we 
have  mentioned,  there  are  many  of  moderate  price  and 
comfortable  appointments. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  a somewhat  elevated  point 
outside  the  eastern  wall  of  Cairo  on  our  right,  but  out 
of  our  present  field  of  vision.  There  we  shall  look 
nearly  southward,  directly  across  our  present  line  of 
sight.  Turn  to  Map  4 and  find  the  red  lines  numbered 
3,  extending  from  the  east  side  of  the  city  slightly 
west  of  south,  which  show  more  definitely  what  is 
to  be  our  next  position  and  our  field  of  vision  from  it. 


Position  2.  Map  4. 


G4  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

JPosition  3.  Citadel  and  Mohammed  AH  Mosque, 
beyond  the  Sah  el-Wezir  Cemetery,  at  the 
Feast  of  Bairam,  Cairo 

We  have  now  descended  from  the  citadel,  you  see, 
and,  having  taken  up  our  position  on  the  north  of  it, 
are  looking  southward  toward  it.  On  our  right,  but  not 
included  in  our  field  of  vision,  is  the  city  itself ; on 
our  left  is  the  eastern  desert,  while  behind  us  is  the 
eastern  half  of  the  Delta.  The  city  of  which  we  see 
the  eastern  edge  on  our  right,  did  not  originally  include 
the  citadel  before  us,  but  where  those  massive  walls 
now  rise  were  the  bare  rocks  of  the  eastern  cliffs  that 
bound  the  valley  on  this  side.  But  when  the  great 
Saladin,  the  conqueror  of  the  Crusaders,  came  to  the 
city,  with  his  fine  military  judgment  he  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  a stronghold  commanding  the  place,  and  pre- 
venting a besieging  enemy  from  doing  the  same.  In 
1176  he  therefore  began  masonry  fortifications  up  yon- 
der on  the  height  now  crowned  by  that  tall  mosque, 
and  planned  a great  wall  around  the  city  below,  which 
latter  was  never  entirely  finished.  He  employed  on 
the  work  hosts  of  European  captives,  whom  he  took 
from  the  ranks  of  the  Crusaders.  Little  of  the  old 
walls  of  the  crusading  days  now  remains,  for  the  cita- 
del has  often  been  enlarged,  remodeled  and  strength- 
ened since  Saladin’s  time. 

The  place  where  we  stood  overlooking  the  city  is 
just  on  the  right  of  the  short,  thick  tower  on  the 
right  of  the  two  tall  minarets,  but  further  back, 
in  a line  directly  away  from  us.  Our  line  of  sight 
there  was  across  that  along  which  we  look  at  present, 
and,  of  course,  directed  toward  our  right  as  we  now 
stand.  The  white  buildings  behind  the  parapets  of  the 
fort  on  the  extreme  left  are  the  barracks  of  the  present 


Position  3.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


65 


garrison.  The  great  mosque  which  surmounts  the 
citadel  with  its  tall  and  graceful  minarets,  is  the  most 
prominent  landmark  in  Cairo.  It  was  begun  by  the 
founder  of  the  reigning  dynasty  of  viceroys  in  Egypt, 
Mohammed  Ali,  after  the  blowing  up  of  an  old  palace, 
which  occupied  the  same  place  in  1824.  His  architects, 
as  the  building  shows,  were  Turks.  It  was  not  com- 
pleted until  1857  under  Said  Pacha,  after  the  death 
of  Mohammed  Ali,  which  occurred  in  1849.  The 
great  rejuvenator  of  Egypt  is  buried  in  a splendid 
tomb  under  one  comer  of  the  large  dome. 

The  citadel  marks  the  rise  of  a new  and  vigorous  dy- 
nasty, and  also  the  beginning  of  a new  day  for  Egypt. 
The  long  domination  of  the  Mamlukes,  which  for  600 
years  had  cursed  this  fair  land,  was  brought  to  a bloody 
end  on  yonder  heights,  when  in  1811  on  the  1st  of 
March,  they  were  craftily  assembled  in  the  narrow, 
high-walled  approach  to  the  citadel,  which  you  see 
coming  up  from  the  town  on  the  right  (the  Bab  el- 
Azab  in  the  Place  Rumelah,  seen  from  Position  2), 
and  there  by  order  of  Mohammed  Ali,  they  were  shot 
down  from  the  surrounding  walls  without  mercy.  Of 
the  480,  only  one,  Amin  Bey,  escaped  by  leaping  bis 
horse  down  through  a gap  in  the  crenellated  wall  to 
the  moat  below,  whence  he  succeeded  in  making  his 
way  to  the  desert.  The  guides  and  dragomans  of 
Cairo  will  show  you  a place  some  90  feet  high,  up 
yonder  on  the  right,  which  they  affirm  with  the  utmost 
gravity  is  the  spot  from  which  Amin  Bey  leaped  his 
horse. 

Nearer  us  is  an  animated  scene  characteristic  of 
modem  Cairo,  in  the  Cemetery  of  the  Bab  el-Wezir  or 
Gate  of  the  Vizier  from  which  the  cemetery  is  named. 
It  is  there  in  the  right-hand  corner  of  the  cemetery. 


Position  3.  Map  4. 


66  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

behind  the  large-domed  tomb  of  Tarabai  esh-Sherif  on 
the  right.  The  city  wall  does  not  enclose  the  ceme- 
tery, but  you  will  see  some  of  its  angles  there  on  the 
right  of  the  tomb  of  Tarabai,  with  the  large  dome, 
after  passing  which  the  wall  turns  to  the  left,  beyond 
the  last  tent  at  the  other  end  of  the  cemetery ; and  you 
can  see  it  extended  eastward  before  the  citadel,  just  in 
front  of  the  heavy  tower  that  rises  below  the  citadel 
wall  on  the  left.  At  that  point  there  is  another  gate, 
and  the  streets  from  both  gates  pass  along  in  front  of 
the  citadel  below  the  spot  where  we  overlooked  the  city 
for  the  first  time. 

You  are,  without  doubt,  wondering  at  these  tents 
and  houses  in  the  cemetery.  The  townspeople  are  cele- 
brating what  they  call  the  “Lesser  Feast,”  a very  in- 
teresting festival,  which  occurs  after  the  fast  of 
Ramadan.  The  occasion  of  the  rejoicing  evident  here 
is  very  natural.  These  pKX)r  people  have  been  fulfill- 
ing the  most  rigorous  obligation  imposed  by  the  Mo- 
hammedan religion ; that  is,  in  the  celebration  of  the 
fast  of  Ramadan,  every  orthodox  Moslem  is  forbid- 
den, during  the  time  between  sunrise  and  sunset  for 
the  entire  month,  to  touch  food.  Naturally  when  this 
severe  requirement  has  been  duly  complied  with,  they 
are  quite  ready  to  celebrate  its  termination.  The  first 
three  days  of  the  following  month,  called  Shawwal, 
are  therefore  devoted  to  feasting,  rejoicing  and  con- 
gratulations. Tlie  celebration  often  goes  by  its  Turk- 
ish name,  “Bairam.”  However  incongruous  it  may 
seem,  you  see  that  these  good  people  have  chosen  the 
cemetery  as  the  place  in  which  to  celebrate  their  feast ; 
this  is  commonly  done  at  this  time.  Some  of  them 
have  permanent  dwellings  here,  which  they  temp>orarily 
occupy  at  the  time  of  this  feast.  These  are  the  houses 


Position  3.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


67 


which  you  see  scattered  through  the  cemetery ; they 
are  erected  over  the  tombs  of  the  departed  members 
of  the  family.  Others  who  have  no  such  dwelling 
erect  a tent  over  the  tomb.  On  at  least  one  of  the 
three  days  of  the  celebration,  they  come  to  the  ceme- 
tery laden  with  palm  branches  which  they  strew  upon 
the  tombs.  The  house  just  before  us  shows  how 
such  dwellings  are  arranged.  The  court  covered  over 
with  plaited  branches  contains  the  tombs  of  the  dead, 
while  the  roofed  portion  is  the  dwelling  in  which  the 
relatives  stay  during  the  sojourn  at  the  cemetery. 

The  hum  of  voices  reciting  the  Koran,  the  shouts  and 
the  gay  laughter  and  the  rejoicing  of  the  poor  at  the 
gate  of  the  cemetery,  as  they  receive  the  food  distributed 
by  the  rich,  all  this,  with  the  citadel  and  its  splendid 
mosque  outlined  against  the  bluest  of  skies  in  the  dis- 
tance, gives  the  traveler  a typical  scene  of  oriental  life, 
as  it  is  found  only  at  Cairo.  Behind  us  at  the  Bab  en- 
Nasr,  which  is  also  on  this  side  of  the  city,  the  jubila- 
tion and  merry-making  are  even  more  marked  than 
here,  and  the  temporary  booths,  with  piles  of  sweets, 
the  merry-go-rounds,  the  dancers  and  the  rejoicing  mul- 
titudes give  one  the  impression  of  a large  country  fair. 
In  a few  days  these  same  people  will  be  following  the 
pieces  of  the  sacred  carpet  or  “kisweh”  from  the  citadel 
to  the  Mosque  of  Hasanen,  in  a rejoicing  procession 
to  which  all  Cairo  will  turn  out.  That  procession  is 
one  of  the  most  interesting  public  events  at  Cairo,  and 
we  shall  later  have  the  opportunity  of  observing  it. 

Meanwhile,  we  shall  turn  half  round,  at  the  same 
time  moving  a short  distance  northward  or  to  our 
right,  and  shall  look  across  the  city  southwestward. 
Find  on  Map  4 the  red  lines  numbered  4,  which  start 


Position  3.  Map  4. 


68  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

from  the  east  side  of  the  city  and  branch  southwest- 
ward  to  the  pyramids  of  Gizeh  about  ten  miles  away. 

Position  4.  Cairo,  looking  southtvest  across  the 
City  to  the  Great  Pyramids,  that  furnished 
stone  for  many  of  its  buildings 

The  cemetery  and  the  citadel  are  now  out  of  range  on 
our  left ; on  our  right  is  the  northern  quarter  of  the  city, 
behind  us  is  the  eastern  desert,  while  the  prospect  before 
us  again  is  the  southern  part  of  the  city,  but  we  now 
look  southwestward,  not  northwestward  as  when  we 
stood  on  the  bastion  of  the  citadel  (Position  2).  But 
we  have  much  the  same  prospect  of  domes  and  minarets 
rising  on  every  hand  from  a confused  expanse  of 
houses  showing  no  perceptible  order  or  arrangement, 
because  there  is  none,  and  they  lie  on  innumerable  little 
crooked  lanes,  narrow  and  tortuous,  as  if  the  houses 
were  dice  which  had  been  shaken  up  in  some  colossal 
hat  and  thrown  down  as  they  happened  to  fall,  only 
taking  care  that  every  spare  inch  of  ground  should  be 
covered.  That  high-walled  building  on  the  extreme 
left,  of  which  we  see  only  one  corner,  is  the  mosque  of 
Rifaiyeh,  which  we  saw  by  that  of  the  Sultan  Hasan 
from  the  citadel  (Position  2).  Immediately  on  its  right 
over  the  dome  with  the  peak  awry,  you  see  the  sand- 
hills and  rubbish  heaps  on  the  south  of  the  present  city, 
where  the  old  vanished  city  of  Misr,  ‘Amr’s  “city  of  the 
tent”  was  located.  Between  the  dome  just  referred 
to  and  the  distant  sandhills  you  notice  a horizontal 
whitish  streak,  beginning  just  below  the  peak  of  the 
dome  and  extending  toward  the  right.  Tliat  is  the 
court  of  the  oldest  mosque  in  Cairo.  It  was  built  in 
877-879  A.  D.  by  Ibn  Tulun,  the  first  independent  Sul- 
tan of  Egypt,  who  freed  himself  from  the  weak  caliphs 


Position  4.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


69 


of  Bagdad  and  made  Egypt  a great  power,  governing 
Syria  and  Mesopotamia  also.  In  his  day  Cairo  did  not 
yet  exist,  but  over  where  you  see  the  sand-hills  were  the 
busy  streets,  teeming  docks  and  swarming  markets  of 
old  Misr.  Outside  Misr,  on  its  northern  and  western 
outskirts,  Ibn  Tulun  built  yonder  ancient  mosque, 
which  has  now  been  standing  over  a thousand  years. 
The  only  mosque  in  Egypt  which  is  older,  is  the  one 
built  beside  the  fortress  of  Babylon,  by  its  conqueror 
Anir  ibn  el- As,  in  640  A.  D. ; but  that  is  so  much 
altered  by  restoration  and  addition  that  it  is  no  longer 
the  mosque  which  Amr  built  there.  From  here,  then, 
we  see  how  the  moisque  of  Ibn  Tulun  forms  a link 
with  the  old  Cairo  on  the  south,  which  gradually  moved 
northward  until  the  present  city  was  founded  here  at 
our  feet  by  the  Fatimids  in  969  A.  D. 

Only  a very  little  of  the  old  Fatimid  city  still  remains, 
but  the  city,  which  we  have  before  us,  is  mainly  a work 
of  the  14th  century  and  later,  the  city  of  the  Arabian 
Nights.  For  it  was  here  and  in  the  city  as  you  now 
see  it  from  this  p>oint  that  the  Arabian  Nights,  with 
their  charming  pictures  of  the  life  of  the  common  peo- 
ple, the  life  of  the  shops,  houses  and  bazaars,  were  put 
into  their  final  form,  though  as  every  one  knows,  they 
contain  tales  of  far  earlier  date,  some  of  them  even 
dating  from  an  age  as  remote  as  the  12th  Dynasty,  of 
the  old  Pharaohs  4,000  years  ago.  Think  of  it!  some 
of  the  tales  which  these  Moslems  of  the  Cairo  bazaars 
love  to  listen  to,  are  almost  as  old  as  those  pyramids, 
of  which  we  get  here  our  first  glimpse,  dimly  rising 
on  that  western  horizon,  where  the  faint  line  of  the 
western  cliffs  mingles  with  the  paler  hue  of  the  after- 
noon sky  (Map  4).  And  those  pyramids,  to  wFich  we 
shall  yet  pay  a long  visit,  furnished  much  of  the  stone 


Position  4.  Map  4. 


70  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

for  this  city.  When  Saladin  built  the  citadel,  and  em- 
ployed on  the  work  tlie  Europeans  whom  he  had  cap- 
tured from  the  ranks  of  the  Crusaders,  the  stone  which 
the  wretched  captives  wrought,  was  taken  from  the 
smaller  pyramids  of  Gizeh.  In  mosque  architecture, 
however,  the  use  of  stone  did  not  become  extensive 
until  die  14th  century;  thus  the  old  mosque  of  Ibn 
Tulun  is  of  brick  plastered  over,  but  the  magnificent 
mosque  of  the  Sultan  Hasan,  which  we  saw  from  the 
citadel,  is  of  stone  taken  from  the  pyramids  over  yon- 
der on  the  horizon. 

It  would  take  too  much  of  our  time  to  identify  all 
these  minarets  before  us,  date  them  and  connect  them 
with  the  great  events  in  the  history  of  Moslem  Egypt, 
with  which  many  of  them  were  identified  in  one  way 
or  another.  But  we  must  look  at  these  two  at  our  feet 
for  a moment.  Built  in  the  days  of  the  Circassian 
Mamlukes,  within  a generation  or  two  of  the  Turkish 
conquest  of  Egypt,  they  are  exquisite  examples  of  the 
classic  age  of  Saracen  architecture.  If  you  could  have 
entered  the  mosque  of  Ibn  Tulun  or  any  of  the  older 
mosques,  as  they  were  left  by  their  builders,  you  would 
have  found  no  dome,  no  minaret,  and  no  ornate  fagade, 
but  simply  a court  surrounded  by  a colonnaded  portico, 
dispensing  with  the  slightest  trace  of  architectural 
decoration  without  and  severely  plain  within.  It  was 
the  Mamlukes  of  the  13th  century  who  gradually 
brought  in  these  things,  although  the  elements  of  a 
fagade  were  introduced  as  early  as  the  latest  of  the 
Fatimids,  and  the  tower  which  preceded  the  minaret 
was  already  found  on  the  mosque  of  Ibn  Tulun.  Five 
times  a day  the  Muezzins  appear  in  the  balcony  of 
these  minarets  and  summon  the  faithful  to  prayers. 
Of  the  real  purpose  of  the  dome  we  shall  have  more  to 


Position  4.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


71 


say  when  we  have  visited  the  so-called  tombs  of  the 
caliphs. 

What  a volume  of  history  this  old  town  is,  if  time 
and  patience  would  but  permit  us  to  search  for  all 
the  landmarks  of  great  events  and  imperial  epochs, 
which  swarm  around  us  on  every  side!  From  this 
point  we  see  more  effectively  than  we  shall  see  again 
anywhere  in  this  valley,  the  monuments  which  span  the 
whole  mighty  sweep  of  oriental  history — yes,  even  the 
whole  history  of  mankind.  For  out  there  on  the  horizon 
are  the  greatest  remains  of  early  man  surviving  any- 
where in  the  world,  and  at  our  feet  is  the  city  of 
Egypt’s  latest  masters,  the  home  of  the  Moslem  con- 
querors ; while  distributed  along  the  river  as  we  as- 
cend, we  shall  find  the  monuments  of  all  the  ages  which 
fill  out  the  vast  epoch  lying  between  these  two  ex- 
tremes. Nowhere  else  in  the  world  can  you  overlook 
such  a metropolis  and  at  the  same  time  see  the  great- 
est monuments  of  earliest  human  history,  looking  down 
upon  the  roofs  of  the  modem  city. 

Let  us  now  visit  one  of  the  best  of  the  works  of  the 
Saracen  architect,  and  when  we  have  done  so  we 
shall  descend  into  the  streets  of  the  old  city.  We  will 
leave  this  city  of  the  living  and  go  out  into  the  desert 
east  of  the  town,  nearly  a mile  behind  us  to  a city  of 
the  dead.  This  next  position  is  shown  on  Map  4 by 
the  red  lines  numbered  5 on  the  east  of  the  city.  Evi- 
dently we  shall  be  looking  a little  west  of  north. 

Position  5,  A “Ship  of  the  Desert”  2>nssing  the 
tombs  of  by-gone  Moslem  rulers,  outside 
the  east  wall  of  Cairo 

These  ladies  of  modern  Cairo  who  are  out  “smelling 
the  air,”  as  they  say  when  out  for  an  airing,  do  not 


Positions  4,  5.  Map  4. 


72  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

seem  oppressed  by  the  solemnity  of  the  place.  Indeed, 
as  one  of  them  has  removed  her  veil,  there  is  much 
doubt  whether  they  belong  to  the  class  of  reputable 
ladies  from  the  upper  ranks  of  society.  However,  tlie 
opportunity  of  meeting  and  conversing  untrammeled 
with  foreigners  is  one  which  does  not  come  every  day 
to  the  members  of  the  harem,  and  this  may  perhaps 
excuse  what  is  considered  by  a well-bred  Cairene  an 
unpardonable  lack  of  reserve  and  modesty.  What  a 
romantic  carriage ! Does  it  not  recall  innumerable 
scenes  from  the  Arabian  Nights  in  the  good  old  days 
when  wonders  awaited  the  fortunate  hero  at  every 
street  corner;  and  the  fair  ladies  of  Cairo  were  but 
waiting  for  his  appearance  to  bestow  upon  him  happi- 
ness, favor  and  unbounded  wealth  ? 

A generation  ago,  such  a vehicle  usually  conveyed 
the  bride  at  every  wedding.  With  tinkling  bells  and 
gayly  caparisoned  camels  it  made  a brave  show  as  it 
carried  to  the  waiting  bridegroom  the  vision  of  loveli- 
ness, whose  face,  as  is  always  the  case  in  Moslem  mar- 
riages, he  has  never  seen,  and  whom  he  might  instantly 
divorce  with  a word,  if  the  fondly  anticipated  “vision” 
turned  out  to  be  a disappointment.  Such  a harsh  pro- 
cedure, though  perfectly  legal  in  this  land  of  the  Koran, 
is,  however,  rarely  practiced  on  the  bride  of  an  hour, 
but  she  is  allowed  time  to  recover  from  her  disap- 
pointment in  not  having  met  the  expectations  of  her 
husband,  and  in  the  course  of  a week  or  ten  days  is 
quietly  divorced  in  private ; while  the  fastidious  hus- 
band then  begins  negotiations  through  a female  mem- 
ber of  his  family  for  another  unseen  bride. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  we  are  on  the  border  of  the 
desert.  I have  often  referred  to  it  as  on  the  east  of  the 
city.  Cairo  is  now  on  our  left  and  we  look  northward. 


Position  5.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


7? 


with  the  desert  on  our  right,  along  the  northern  end  of 
that  line  of  royal  tombs  which  extends  along  the  entire 
eastern  side  of  the  dty,  except  where  interrupted  by  the 
citadel,  which  is  now  behind  us  (Map  4),  These  beau- 
tiful sepulchres  were  erected  from  the  13th  to  the  16th 
centuries  by  the  Bahri  and  Circassian  Sultans,  the 
Mamlukes  who  followed  the  age  of  Saladin.  They 
are  the  product  of  the  finest  age  of  Saracen  art,  and 
place  us  under  a heavy  debt  of  gratitude  to  the  splendid 
artistic  genius  which  created  them.  We  have  but  a 
portion  of  them  before  us,  only  the  northern  end  in- 
deed. They  were  liberally  endowed  by  their  builders, 
each  of  whom  left  a large  income  from  lands  and  taxes 
for  the  support  of  a body  of  sheiks,  and  keepers  at- 
tached to  his  respective  rnosque,  and  these  with  their 
families  resided  in  the  mosque  enclosure.  But  Moham- 
med Ali  confiscated  the  property  of  these  mosques  early 
in  the  19th  century,  and  since  then  they  have  fallen 
into  sad  decay.  A commission  of  Europeans  appointed 
by  the  government  has  in  late  years  devoted  much 
time  and  liberal  government  appropriations  to  the 
preservation  and  judicious  restoration  of  these  monu- 
ments, and  their  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  the 
greatest  success.  We  may  therefore  hope  that  the 
life  of  these  priceless  heritages  from  a great  past  has 
been  indefinitely  extended. 

The  large  one  on  the  right,  with  the  high  wall  and 
those  two  minarets,  was  built  by  the  Sultan  Barkuk, 
and  though  he  died  before  its  completion,  it  was  fin- 
ished by  his  son,  the  Sultan  Farag,  in  1410.  These 
three  domes  on  the  left,  with  their  delicate  ornamenta- 
tion, belong  to  the  extensive  foundation  of  the  Sultan 
Bursbey,  in  1431.  The  fourth  dome  in  this  same  row 
on  the  left,  belongs  to  the  mosque  of  the  Emir  Yusuf, 


Position  5.  Map  4. 


74  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  son  of  Bursbey,  while  the  last  is  that  of  the  Sultan 
el-Ashraf.  This  line  of  yellow  domes  on  the  east 
of  the  city  forms  one  of  the  loveliest  sights  in  or  about 
Cairo,  and  is  an  architectural  display  of  Saracen  genius 
which  cannot  be  found  anywhere  else.  Let  us  now 
examine  more  closely  one  of  the  most  notable  and, 
undoubtedly,  the  most  beautiful  of  this  entire  group 
of  tomb-mosques,  that  of  Kait  Bey;  and  while  there 
we  shall  explain  why  we  have  called  these  buildings 
mosques,  although  they  are  also  tombs. 

The  mosque  of  Kait  Bey,  to  which  we  now  go,  is 
a short  distance  to  the  southwest  of  us ; that  is,  on  our 
left  and  at  the  same  time  behind  us.  We  shall  there- 
fore move  to  the  left  and  backward  to  reach  our  next 
point  of  view. 

Position  <>.  Tomb  Mosque  of  Sultan  Kait  Bey,  the 
most  beautiful  of  the  Tombs  of  Cairo 

As  we  left  our  last  point  of  view,  we  turned  almost 
toward  the  south,  and  we  are  now  facing  the 
southwest.  The  city  is  now  on  our  right,  the 
desert  on  our  left,  and  also  behind  us,  stretching 
away  to  the  Isthmus  of  Suez  and  the  plains  of  south- 
ern Palestine.  Here  before  us  rises  the  lovely  tomb- 
mosque  of  Kait  Bey,  built  in  1474,  by  the  last  of  the 
really  great  Mamlukes  who  preceded  the  Turkish  con- 
quest, which  occurred  a generation  later.  The  power- 
ful and  sagacious  Kait  Bey  inaugurated  a veritable 
Augustan  age  for  Cairo,  and  brief  as  it  was  the  city 
was  adorned  with  a host  of  magnificent  buildings, 
which  to-day  form  its  chief  architectural  beauties.  As 
we  have  before  remarked,  a mosque  was  originally  only 
a place  of  assembly  in  the  open  air,  a square  court 


Positions  5,  6.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


75 


surrounded  by  a colonnaded  portico.  When  it  became 
customary  to  inter  the  great  in  a mosque,  a dome  was 
placed  over  the  addition  containing  the  tomb.  As  an 
architectural  element  the  dome  was  originally  and  for 
a long  period  the  invariable  accompaniment  of  a tomb 
in  Saracen  architecture.  This  dome,  the  gradual  de- 
velopment of  the  minaret,  and  the  addition  of  a faqade 
taken  from  the  buildings  of  the  Crusaders,  gave  the 
tomb-mosque  a finished  architectural  unity  which  the 
earlier  building  did  not  possess.  These  important  addi- 
tions necessitated  many  supplementary  details,  which 
were  new  to  the  mosque.  See  how  skilfully  the  transi- 
tion is  made  from  the  square  building  below  to  the  cir- 
cular base  of  the  dome  which  rests  upon  it.  That  ex- 
quisite dome  is,  like  the  rest  of  the  building,  of  stone, 
and  the  rich  carving  upon  it  is  the  perfection  of 
geometrical  design  in  which  the  Saracen  artist  has  con- 
tributed so  much  to  decorative  art. 

Under  Saladin  the  plan  of  a mosque  was  modified 
and  the  four  porticoed  sides  of  the  old  court  were  ex- 
tended outward  in  the  form  of  a cross,  a form  intro- 
duced from  Persia.  The  court  at  the  same  time  became 
smaller  and  the  four  ends  of  the  cross,  or  the  transepts 
as  we  might  call  them,  were  used  by  teachers  of  the 
four  great  schools  of  orthodox  Moslem  theology  as 
lecture  halls.  Such  a building  was  and  still  is  called 
a “medresa,”  or  place  of  teaching,  a college.  By  the 
time  of  Kait  Bey,  this  form  had  in  its  turn  been  sub- 
jected to  change,  in  that  three  of  the  four  transepts 
had  gradually  been  reduced  in  size  and  the  central 
court  so  contracted  that  it  was  roofed  over.  Various 
irregularities  also  modified  the  old,  fixed  plan,  so  that 
you  can  hardly  follow  it  here.  Although  in  decorative 
beauty  such  buildings  as  these  are  unsurpassed  in  any 


Position  6.  Map  4. 


76 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


art,  yet  as  a whole  they  do  not  produce  an  impression 
of  unity  and  repose  such  as  we  receive  from  the  classic 
or  the  ancient  Egyptian  temples.  The  only  building 
in  Cairo,  comparable  to  the  works  of  ancient  Egypt, 
which  we  shall  later  visit,  is  the  mosque  of  Sultan 
Hasan,  which  we  viewed  from  the  citadel. 

We  must  now  examine  some  of  the  more  important 
interior  arrangements  of  Kait  Bey’s  mosque.  That  wall 
which  faces  toward  our  left,  looks  southeast,  that  is, 
toward  Mecca,  in  which  direction  every  Moslem  must 
look  when  he  prays.  Hence  if  we  enter  this  tall,  narrow 
door  in  the  front  we  shall  find  ourselves  in  a large  hall 
of  worship,  which  in  the  original  mosque-form,  was 
one  side  of  the  court,  roofed  over  for  the  protection  of 
worshipers.  On  the  inside  of  that  wall,  therefore,  we 
shall  find  the  arrangements  by  which  the  Moslem  ar- 
chitect designates  the  proper  direction  for  prayer  in 
such  a house  of  worship.  Tliere,  too,  we  shall  be  able 
to  observe  the  tracery  of  those  arched  windows  of 
which  we  see  a pair  on  either  side  of  the  small  circular 
window  in  the  centre. 

l*osition  7.  The  prayer  niche,  southeast  totvard 
Mecca,  and  the  pulpit  in  the  Tomb  Mosque  of 
Kait  Key,  Cairo 

How  do  you  like  walking 'about  on  a not  too  clean 
oriental  floor  with  your  shoes  off  ? Or  if  the  attendant 
has  been  amiable  he  has  allowed  you  to  put  on  some 
old  felt  slippers  over  your  shoes,  or  even  wrap  them 
up  in  some  tattered  bits  of  rags  which  he  has  at  hand 
for  the  purjxjse.  But  no  Moslem  would  think  of  enter- 
ing the  holy  place  on  such  a compromise.  He  will 
remain  with  bare  feet  until  he  steps  outside  the  door 
of  the  sacred  building.  See  how  the  light  filters 


Positions  6,  7.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


77 


through  the  beautiful  tracery  of  those  stained  windows 
in  the  upper  part  of  the  wall  before  us,  which  we  saw 
from  the  outside.  It  is  in  such  designs  as  this  that 
the  Saracen  artist  is  unexcelled  by  any  other.  This 
rectangular  transept  before  us  was,  in  the  original 
court-mosque,  that  side  of  the  court  facing  Mecca. 
It  was  then  a mere  roofed  portico  on  the  side  of  the 
court,  and  its  back  wall  was  arranged  as  you  see  this 
one. 

That  niche  there  is  called  by  the  Moslems  the 
“mihrab,”  and  it  marks  the  proper  direction  for  prayer, 
which  they  term  “kibleh,”  or  “facing” ; for  it  is  very 
important  that  a Moslem  should  always  pray  toward 
Mecca.  Mohammed  first  made  the  kibleh  toward  Jeru- 
salem, which  is  holy  alike  to  Jew,  Christian  and  Mos- 
lem, but  when  he  failed  to  convert  the  Jews  to  Islam, 
he  changed  it  to  Mecca,  and  subjected  the  Jews  to  the 
severest  persecution ; at  least  those  in  Medina,  his  home 
after  he  forsook  Mecca.  On  the  further  side  of  the 
prayer  niche  you  observe  the  “mimbar,”  or  pulpit,  from 
which  the  Friday  sermon  or  “Khutbeh”  is  delivered 
every  week.  The  preacher,  who  is  not  specially  or- 
dained for  his  office,  but  may  be  any  p>erson  of  theo- 
logical learning,  comes  in  and  seats  himself  on  the 
steps  while  the  Muezzin  enters  and  proclaims  the  hour 
of  prayer.  Then  the  preacher  rises  and,  standing  on  the 
second  step,  delivers  a short  sermon,  for  tradition  avers 
that  the  prophet  affirmed  that  “the  length  of  a man’s 
prayers  and  the  shortness  of  his  sermon  are  signs  of  a 
man’s  common  sense.”  Christianity  has  quite  reversed 
this  estimate.  The  wood-carving  on  some  of  these  pul- 
pits is  among  the  finest  decorative  designs  produced  by 
the  artists  of  the  Egyptian  sultans. 


Position  7.  Map  4. 


78  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

A man  need  not  possess  all  these  appurtenances  in 
order  to  be  able  to  pray.  Wherever  he  is,  he  must  pray 
five  times  a day,  and  consider  himself  very  lucky  that 
he  is  not  obliged  to  pray  oftener,  for  tradition  has  a 
curious  story  that  Allah  first  demanded  fifty  times  a 
day,  but  that  Mohammed,  on  hearing  from  Moses  that 
he  had  failed  in  attempting  to  hold  the  Hebrews  to  this 
number  of  daily  prayers,  returned  to  Allah  and  asked 
a remission,  which  request  being  granted,  he  asked  for 
another  remission,  and  he  continued  to  ask  until  the 
number  was  reduced  to  five,  where  it  remained.  Many 
Moslems  are  undoubtedly  true  to  this  obligation,  and 
there  is  no  more  impressive  sight  than  to  see  one  of 
these  great  Cairo  mosques  filled  with  a vast  multitude 
zealously  engaged  in  worship,  and  swapng  when  they 
bow  down  for  the  prayers,  as  if  a great  wave  of  the 
sea  were  passing.  But  there  are  many  whose  prayers 
are  either  not  performed  at  all,  or  only  now  and  again 
in  the  most  perfunctory  manner. 

There  is,  however,  a ceremony  in  which  every  Mos- 
lem joins  with  the  utmost  fervor,  and  that  is  the  pro- 
cession of  the  Kisweh,  or  sacred  carpet.  In  order  to 
see  this  we  must  return  to  the  city  and  find  a good 
place  for  observing  the  procession  as  it  passes  from  the 
RumHah  before  the  citadel  (seen  from  Position  1). 

Position  s.  The  Holy  Carpet  parade  with  the 
Mahmal,  before  the  departure  of  the  pilgrims 
for  Mecca,  Cairo 

There  is  nothing  in  Cairo  which  so  strikingly  re- 
minds us  that  we  are  in  a country  professing  the  re- 
ligion of  Mohammed,  as  the  ceremonies  connected  with 
this  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  the  city  where  he  so  long 
labored  and  over  which,  after  long  exile,  he  finally 


Positions  7,  8.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


79 


triumphed.  It  is  now  two  or  three  days  since  the  feast 
of  Bairam,  which  we  visited  at  the  cemetery  of  the 
Bab  el-Wezir,  the  gate  by  the  citadel;  and  here  is  a 
celebration  to  which  the  Moslem  turns  out  with  even 
more  delight  than  to  Bairam.  Every  year  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  Sultan  a fine  carpet  or  huge  fabric  for 
festooning  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca  is  made  in  this  city,  and 
we  are  now  viewing  the  procession  which  is  bearing 
it  from  the  citadel  to  the  mosque  of  the  Hasanen,  where 
the  pieces  will  be  sewed  together  and  lined,  in  readiness 
for  the  departure  of  the  pilgrims. 

We  cannot  here  see  the  carpet  itself,  but  the  “mah- 
mal”  which  accompanies  it  is  even  more  sacred.  We 
refer  to  the  curious  object  which  you  see  at  the  head  of 
the  long  procession.  It  is  a pyramid  of  woven  fabric 
richly  embroidered,  surmounting  a roughly  cubical 
base,  of  the  same  material.  The  whole  is  stretched  on 
a wooden  frame,  and  contains  nothing.  Brazen  orna- 
ments at  each  corner  and  a similar  adornment  crowning 
a cylinder  at  the  top  complete  the  strange  object.  At- 
tached to  the  ornament  at  the  top  are  two  copies  of  the 
Koran,  the  holy  scripture  of  Islam.  It  is  all  mounted 
upon  a magnificent  camel,  which  is  here  so  hidden  by 
the  mahmal  and  the  crowd  that  you  can  scarcely  see 
it  at  all.  In  this  way  the  mahmal  proceeds  to  Mecca 
with  the  pilgrims  and  with  them  also  returns  to  Cairo. 

The  origin  of  the  object  is  interesting.  The  Sultan 
Negm  ed-Din,  whose  son  was  the  last  of  the  dynasty 
of  Saladin,  had  a beautiful  Turkish  slave  in  his  harem, 
who  eventually  became  his  favorite  wife.  Her  name 
was  Sheger  ed-Durr,  which  means  “Spray  of  Pearls,” 
and  on  the  death  of  the  last  of  the  line  of  Saladin,  she 
claimed  the  throne.  Although  the  Moslems  are  always 
exceedingly  averse  to  having  a woman  as  sovereign. 


Position  8.  Map  4. 


80  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

she  ruled  successfully  for  several  years  and  performed 
the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  in  a haudag  or  camel  saddle  of 
royal  splendor,  which  she  after  that  regularly  sent  with 
the  pilgrims  each  year  as  the  outward  symbol  of  her 
presence,  although  it  was  empty.  They  married  her 
to  a husband  as  soon  as  they  could,  and  in  a fit  of  jeal- 
ousy she  had  him  murdered  in  his  bath,  whereupon  she 
was  taken  to  the  citadel  and  imprisoned.  There  she 
“vindictively  pounded  her  jewels  in  a mortar  that  they 
might  adorn  no  other  woman,”  and  then  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  woman  who  had  occasioned  her  jealousy, 
she  was  beaten  to  death  and  her  body  flung  into  the 
moat  of  the  citadel.  Some  one  finally  gave  her  decent 
burial  and  her  tomb  still  survives  here.  But  the  great 
Sultan  Bibars  continued  the  custom  of  sending  the 
empty  haudag,  and  despatched  the  first  one  to  Mecca 
with  the  pilgrims  in  the  year  1272  or  1277  A.  D.,  from 
which  time  it  has  always  been  a part  of  the  procession. 
It  is  therefore  a memorial  of  the  beautiful  but  ill-fated 
“Spray  of  Pearls,”  which  here  heads  this  procession 
over  six  hundred  years  after  the  unfortunate  queen’s 
death. 

But  the  Moslem  sees  more  in  it  than  a woman’s 
camel  saddle ; for  him  it  has  become  sacred  beyond 
expression.  Lane  narrates  that  in  1834  he  followed  be- 
side the  mahmal  as  it  was  brought  into  the  city  at  the 
return  of  the  pilgrims,  and  that  as  he  did  so  he  grasped 
and  held  the  fringe  of  one  side,  uttering  a pious  excla- 
mation to  soothe  the  officer  in  charge  of  it,  who  looked 
at  him  with  some  question  as  to  the  propriety  of  such 
a liberty.  But  Lane  was  dressed  as  an  Oriental  and 
was  thus  mistaken  for  a Moslem.  Having  later  told 
the  incident  to  one  of  his  Moslem  friends,  the  latter 
expressed  the  greatest  astonishment,  and  said,  adds 


Position  8.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


81 


Lane,  “that  he  had  never  heard  of  anyone  having  done 
so  before ; and  that  the  prophet  had  certainly  taken  a 
love  for  me,  or  I could  not  have  been  allowed : he 
added  that  I had  derived  an  inestimable  blessing;  and 
that  it  would  be  prudent  in  me  not  to  tell  any  others  of 
my  Moslem  friends  of  this  fact,  as  it  would  make  them 
envy  me  so  great  a privilege,  and  perhaps  displease 
them.” 

In  a small  circle  on  the  front  of  the  pyramidal  top  of 
the  mahmal  you  see  the  monogram  of  the  present 
Sultan  of  Turkey,  who  is  the  head  of  the  Moslem  heir- 
archy,  though  the  legitimacy  of  his  succession  is  se- 
riously questioned  by  the  Moslems  themselves.  Guard- 
ing the  mahmal  is  a circle  of  horsemen  from  the  army 
of  Egypt.  It  was  these  men  under  English  leadership 
and  supported  by  some  English  regulars  who  rescued 
the  Sudan  and  regained  Khartum,  to  which  we  are  to 
pay  a brief  visit  at  the  end  of  our  journey.  That  long 
line  of  camel  riders  behind  the  mahmal  will  in  a few 
days  begin  the  weary  desert  journey  around  the  north 
end  of  the  Red  Sea  and  southward  to  Mecca.  Those 
who  can  afford  it,  however,  are  able  to  facilitate  the 
journey  in  the  most  prosaic  modern  fashion.  They  go 
by  railway  to  Suez  at  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea,  thence 
they  take  a steamer  to  Giddeh,  the  port  of  Mecca,  from 
which  they  can  reach  the  holy  city  in  a few  hours.  At 
Mecca  the  pilgrims  undergo  a long  and  wearisome 
ceremonial  lasting  some  days,  and  the  sacred  carpet  is 
draped  about  the  Kaaba,  which  is  a rectangular  shrine 
in  the  centre  of  the  great  mosque  court  of  Mecca.  The 
old  carpet  of  the  year  before  is  taken  down,  cut  up  and 
divided  among  the  pilgrims.  Something  over  four 
months  after  the  procession  has  left  Cairo,  its  return  is 
announced  by  a special  messenger,  and  the  pilgrims  are 


Position  8.  Map  4. 


82  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

received  with  great  rejoicing,  the  mahmal  being 
brought  in  with  much  the  same  ceremony  which  we 
observe  here. 

It  is  considered  the  pious  duty  of  every  Moslem  to 
undertake  this  arduous  pilgrimage  at  least  once  in  his 
life,  and  its  maintenance,  involving  a military  escort, 
rich  gifts  to  the  city  of  Mecca  and  many  other  ex- 
penses, costs  the  government  annually  some  $250,000. 
Besides  the  expense  the  pilgrimage  is  a fruitful  source 
of  disease.  Many  die  from  the  hardships  incident  to 
the  desert  journey,  and  it  is  a sad  and  touching  scene 
when  the  caravan  returns,  to  see  the  wives  and  sisters 
who  go  out  to  meet  and  receive  their  husbands  or 
brothers  only  to  learn  that  they  have  p>erished  in  the 
desert.  The  reception  of  the  returning  caravan  is 
always  accompanied  by  the  loud  wailing  and  piercing 
shrieks  of  stricken  women,  as  they  learn  of  their  be- 
reavement. But  worse  than  this  is  the  importation  of 
epidemics,  especially  cholera,  from  the  unsanitary 
houses  of  Mecca,  in  which  the  pilgrims  have  lived. 
Many  a blasting  visitation  of  cholera  can  be  traced  di- 
rectly to  this  source. 

There  is  no  time  when  so  many  gaily  dressed  Mos- 
lems may  be  seen  in  the  street  as  at  this  celebration 
before  us,  but  even  on  any  ordinary  day  the  shifting 
panorama  of  the  Cairo  streets  and  bazaars,  will  afford 
the  western  eye,  accustomed  to  the  soberest  and  most 
prosaic  of  city  streets,  the  keenest  enjoyment  and  de- 
light. The  mass  of  bright  color  constantly  changing 
with  kaleidoscopic  variety  and  bewildering  rapidity, 
is  of  itself  a continual  pleasure.  We  have  often  men- 
tioned the  Arabian  Nights,  but  you  will  find  things 
around  every  corner  here  which  will  make  you  think 
that  you  have  walked  into  the  world  of  the  Arabian 


Position  8.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


83 


Nights,  as  Alice  stepped  into  Wonderland  through  the 
looking  glass.  The  barber  shaving  the  heads  of  the 
faithful  in  an  open  booth,  which  is  really  a part  of 
the  street ; the  little  street  restaurant,  where  the  patrons 
squat  in  the  mire  before  the  low  table  and  devour  a 
plentiful  repast  for  a penny;  the  water  carriers  bow- 
ing beneath  a heavy  water  skin ; the  seller  of  cool  sher- 
bet, jingling  together  his  brass  cups;  the  woman  of  the 
poor  classes  with  a child  astride  of  her  shoulder;  the 
Cairo  houris  with  faces  all  veiled  save  the  thrilling  black 
eyes;  fine  old  sheiks  with  long  white  beards  and  mas- 
sive turbans ; slow  plodding  camels  with  swaying  neck ; 
tiny  donkeys  staggering  beneath  the  garden  truck  of 
some  poor  peasant ; staid  merchants  sitting  on  the 
bench  or  mastaba  of  their  bazaars  and  smoking  the 
long  pipe  lazily  or  sipping  their  coffee  as  they  indif- 
ferently watch  the  passing  throng;  all  this  framed  in 
a narrow  winding  street,  with  picturesque,  grated  win- 
dows, from  which  veiled  faces  look  down  upon  the 
scene,  while  a thousand  varied  cries  of  pedlars,  donkey 
boys,  auctioneers  and  beggars  mingle  in  bewildering 
confusion  with  the  constant  hum  of  conversation  from 
the  bazaars,  and  the  nose  is  greeted  by  the  strange 
aromatic  odor  which  always  fills  these  oriental  streets — 
all  this  I say  conveys  such  a jumble  of  impressions  and 
appeals  to  so  many  senses  at  once,  that  the  unaccus- 
tomed visitor  revels  in  it  all  with  a delight  that  must  be 
experienced  to  be  appreciated.  I know  Europeans  who 
have  lived  in  Cairo  for  a generation,  who  nevertheless 
find  as  much  pleasure  in  these  charming  Cairo  streets 
as  they  did  when  they  first  saw  them. 

But  now  we  must  leave  all  this  and  step  into  one  of 
the  courts  that  we  may  see  what  one  of  these  oriental 
houses  is  like. 


Position  8.  Map  4. 


84  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Position  9.  The  harem  windows  in  the  court  of  a 
wealthy  Cairene's  house 

The  houses  of  the  rich  and  noble  Cairenes  give  little 
indication  on  the  outside,  of  their  interior  beauty  and 
richness.  Indeed  the  streets  are  too  narrow  to  make 
any  exterior  fagade  effective,  even  if  it  were  present. 
As  we  have  come  in  here  from  the  street  the  porter  has 
taken  us  through  a passage  with  at  least  one  turn  and 
sometimes  more,  in  order  to  prevent  passers  in  the 
street  from  looking  into  the  court.  On  two  sides  of 
it  are  ranged  the  different  rooms  and  apartments  of 
the  house;  the  ground  floor,  the  carved  doorway  to 
which  you  see  here  on  the  right  behind  the  tree,  is  re- 
served for  the  men  and  is  called  the  “salamlik.”  There 
the  master  of  the  house  receives  his  friends,  who,  ac- 
cording to  Moslem  politeness,  must  not  give  the  slight- 
est intimation  that  they  are  aware  of  the  existence  of 
any  women  in  the  house.  If  any  of  these  friends  are 
taken  to  the  second  floor  they  raise  their  voices  and  let 
it  be  known  that  they  are  coming,  in  order  to  warn  the 
women  and  give  them  time  to  retire  or  to  veil  them- 
selves ; for  the  harem,  the  apartment  of  the  women, 
is  on  the  upper  floor.  There  is  rarely  any  higher 
floor  in  a Cairo  house. 

Yonder  elaborately  and  exquisitely  carved  windows 
are  those  of  the  harem,  and  there  the  ladies  of 
the  house  spend  their  time  listlessly  lounging,  and 
rarely  going  out  for  an  airing.  They  lead  the  most 
uninteresting  of  lives,  possess  no  culture  or  next  to 
none,  and  by  the  men  of  their  own  race  are  given  an 
exceedingly  bad  character,  probably  far  worse  than 
they  actually  deserve.  But  the  stories  of  female  in- 
trigue and  ingenuity  in  evading  the  vigilant  husband, 
which  one  hears  in  Cairo,  are  legion,  and  some  of  them 


Position  9.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


85 


must  be  true.  It  is  little  wonder  that  women  so  penned 
up  should  resort  to  almost  anything  as  a relief  from 
the  stifling  life  they  lead.  But  woe  to  her,  whom  one 
of  these  lounging  servants,  who  are  always  about  the 
court,  betrays ! She  is  then  taken,  or  at  least  for- 
merly was  (even  though  the  Koran  requires  four  eye 
witnesses,  who  are  almost  never  forthcoming),  to 
the  Nile,  bound  and  cast  in.  Such  punishment 
is,  however,  more  common  among  the  poor.  But 
it  goes  back  to  hoary  antiquity,  for  a papyrus  of  the 
17th  century  B.  C,  now  in  the  museum  of  Berlin,  re- 
lates the  intrigue  of  a priest’s  wife,  who  on  being  be- 
trayed by  the  priest’s  steward,  was  cast  into  the  Nile. 

But  the  women  are  not  the  only  sufferers.  Said  one 
of  Lane’s  friends  to  him : “How  many  men  in  Cairo 
have  lost  their  lives  on  account  of  women?  A very 
handsome  young  libertine,  who  lived  in  this  house 
which  you  now  occupy,  was  beheaded  here  in  the  street 
before  his  own  door,  for  an  intrigue  with  the  wife  of  a 
Bey,  and  all  the  women  of  Cairo  wept  for  him.” 

Those  windows  up  there  have  probably  witnessed 
such  scenes.  What  superb  works  of  art  they  are ! It  is  in 
some  of  these  carved  windows  of  Cairo,  that  the  finest 
work  of  the  Saracen  designer  is  found,  though  unfor- 
tunately they  are  rarely  as  old  as  such  work  in  the 
mosques.  They  are  too  fragile  and  exposed,  as  well  as 
too  good  conductors  of  fire  to  survive  long.  They  are 
known  as  “Mushrabiyeh,”  which  means  “drinking 
place,”  because  the  porous  jars  of  drinking  water,  in 
common  use  in  Egypt,  are  placed  here  and  exposed 
to  a constant  draught  that  the  water  which  penetrates 
from  the  inside  to  the  outside  of  the  jar,  may  rapidly 
evaporate  and  thus  produce  cold,  which  cools  the  water 


Position  9.  Map  4. 


86  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

remaining  in  the  jar.  Without  understanding  the  prin- 
ciple of  physics  involved,  the  natives  thus  obtain  cool 
drinking  water  without  the  use  of  ice.  The  presence 
of  these  jars  in  such  windows  has  thus  given  them 
their  name;  these  little  projecting  oriels,  of  which  you 
see  three  in  the  middle  window,  are  the  receptacles  of 
such  jars.  The  whole  of  the  front  and  sides  above 
the  carved  plinth  at  the  bottom  is  a very  porous  grat- 
ing through  which  the  wind  circulates  freely.  Such  a 
grating  is  made  of  carved,  globular  balls,  joined  like 
beads  to  each  other  by  connecting  pegs  of  wood,  a 
construction  often  exquisitely  wrought  and  involving 
infinite  labor.  Cook’s  tourists  buy  quantities  of  the 
crude  modern  specimens  of  such  work,  which  mostly 
fall  to  pieces  after  they  have  gotten  them  home.  The 
hands  that  wrought  yonder  windows  have  long  been 
dust,  and  their  successors  have  ceased  these  many 
years  to  possess  the  skill  and  patience  to  produce  such 
masterpieces.  Neither  have  they  the  support  and  en- 
couragement of  rich  and  powerful  patrons  as  in  the 
days  of  the  prodigal  Mamlukes,  to  whom,  dissolute 
and  venal  as  they  were,  we  owe  so  much  of  the  beauty 
that  fills  modern  Cairo. 

But  now  we  must  leave  the  things  of  this  later  Egypt 
and  pass  to  the  long  bygone  age  and  the  vanished 
splendors  of  the  Pharaohs,  of  which  nevertheless 
enough  remains  to  furnish  us  with  a faint  picture  of 
what  was  once  here.  The  treasure  house  of  such 
things  as  have  survived  and  need  shelter  in  a perma- 
nent home,  is  provided  by  the  Egyptian  government  in 
the  splendid  new  museum  of  Cairo,  which  we  discov- 
ered from  the  citadel  (Position  1).  It  was  formerly 
in  an  old  palace  by  the  suburb  of  Gizeh,  on  the  road 


Position  9.  Map  4, 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


87 


to  the  pyramids,  and  before  that  at  Bulak,  where  the 
museum  was  founded  by  Mariette.  Repairing  to  the 
new  building,  we  shall  glance  at  a few  of  the  more 
important  or  interesting  of  the  vast  host  of  antiquities 
with  which  it  is  filled. 

Position  10.  Piorite  'portrait  statue  of  King 
Khafre,  the  builder  of  the  Second  Pyramid 
of  Gizeh,  Cairo 

We  have  stepped  in  from  the  busy  streets  of  Cairo, 
the  distant  noise  of  which  is  still  in  our  ears,  as  the 
descendants  of  this  man’s  subjects  throng  past  the 
door  of  the  museum.  We  are  standing  here  in  the 
National  Museum  of  Egypt,  which  is  but  a short  dis- 
tance from  the  great  Nile  bridge  that  will  later  lead  us 
out  to  the  pyramids  of  Gizeh.  Meantime  we  are  to 
have  an  audience  with  this  mighty  Pharaoh  who  built 
one  of  them.  Does  he  not  look  every  inch  a king? 
Thus  he  sat  in  the  presence  of  his  assembled  court 
5,000  years  ago,  and  thanks  to  the  skill  of  his  court 
sculptors,  we  are  able  to  view  him  to-day  almost  as 
if  he  were  in  the  flesh  before  us.  The  mottled  mate- 
rial somewhat  detracts  from  the  fine  lines  and  clear- 
ness of  the  features ; that  material  is  diorite,  and  al- 
though it  is  so  hard  that  it  turns  the  edge  of  a steel 
tool  to-day,  the  artist  of  5,000  years  ago,  with  his  chisel 
of  copper,  has  cut  the  fine  lines  of  the  mouth  and  the 
delicate  curves  of  the  nose,  as  firmly  as  if  they  were 
wrought  in  wood.  For  the  artist  of  that  ancient  day 
possessed  not  merely  the  conception  of  such  a king, 
but  also  the  technical  experience  and  skill  to  put  it 
into  the  hardest  of  material,  which  no  sculptor  of  to- 
day would  dream  of  attacking.  What  was  that  con- 
ception ? It  was  not  an  ideal  conception ; it  was  but 


Position  10.  Map  4. 


88  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  king  as  he  saw  him;  so  that  the  statue  before  us 
is  the  result  of  an  attempt  to  put  the  king  into  stone 
by  a process  of  exactly  imitating  his  every  feature, 
producing  at  last  an  exact  counterpart  of  his  person 
as  he  was  wont  to  appear  at  court  on  great  occasions. 

There  he  sits,  in  calm  and  conscious  superiority  over 
the  mere  human  creatures  about  him,  the  Pharaoh, 
whose  ordinary  designation  was  the  “good  god,”  before 
whom  all  men  kissed  the  dust,  of  whom  his  son-in-law 
and  a great  favorite  relates  with  pride  that  he  was 
not  permitted  to  kiss  the  ground  merely,  but  by  special 
grace  might  also  kiss  the  Pharaoh’s  toe. 

His  costume  is  the  simplest ; it  dates  from  remote  pre- 
historic days,  and  we  shall  find  it  1,500  years  later,  on 
the  statues  of  Ramses  II  at  Abu  Simbel  (Position  95). 
It  consists  of  a linen  headdress  with  folds  hanging  to 
the  breast  in  front,  bearing  the  sacred  urseus  serpent  on 
the  forehead,  the  Pharaonic  crest,  which  you  can 
barely  see  from  here ; an  artificial  beard  attached  by 
straps  passing  up  behind  the  ears ; besides  a plaited 
linen  kilt  from  the  waist  to  above  the  knees.  Thus  the 
body  is  largely  exposed,  and  we  can  observe  how  su- 
perbly in  such  refractory  material,  the  ancient  sculptor 
has  modeled  the  limbs.  While  the  muscular  develop- 
ment of  the  upper  arm  is  summarily  rendered,  the 
breast  bones  a little  exaggerated,  the  hands,  feet  and 
lower  limbs  are  admirably  done.  It  is  fortunate 
indeed  that  the  nude  or  semi-nude  was  a common  thing 
in  Egyptian  life ; had  it  not  been  so,  the  sculptor  would 
have  been  as  unfamiliar  with  the  human  form  as  he 
shows  himself  in  Babylonian  and  Assyrian  sculpture. 
The  throne  upon  which  the  king  sits  is  a plain  stool 
without  a back,  the  slab  or  plinth  behind  the  Pha- 
raoh being  merely  a structural  device  for  the  protec- 


Posltion  10.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


89 


tion  and  safety  of  the  body,  such  as  is  found  in  all 
statues  in  stone,  even  where  there  is  no  seat.  The  stool 
or  chair  is  conceived  by  the  artist  as  supported  upon 
two  lions,  one  at  each  side.  The  one  on  this  side  is 
clearly  traceable,  though  much  conventionalized ; you 
see  the  head  and  the  fore  legs,  with  the  paws  resting 
on  two  bases  ornamented  with  rings,  while  the  hind 
legs  may  also  be  discerned  at  the  back  corner  on  this 
side.  The  space  between  the  fore  and  the  hind  legs 
of  the  lion  is  filled  with* a symbol  of  the  union  of 
Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,  consisting  of  a papyrus  stem, 
the  plant  oi  Lower  Egypt,  and  the  lily,  the  flower  of 
Upper  Egypt,  intertwined  about  the  hieroglyph  for 
“union,”  thus  forming  the  Pharaoh’s  coat  of  arms. 

This  masterpiece  is  unsurpassed  by  any  such  work  in 
the  Old  Kingdom,  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  its  age 
has  been  called  in  question.  The  evidence  adduced  for 
a later  date  for  the  statue  is,  however,  quite  insufficient. 
We  shall  be  able  to  appreciate  the  exalted  character 
of  this  work  if  we  now  contrast  it  with  one  equally 
good,  but  of  distinctly  different  spirit.  Let  us  re- 
member as  we  leave  it  that  we  shall  later  see  the  build- 
ing by  the  Sphinx,  in  which  this  and  several  more 
statues  of  this  king  were  found,  just  as  they  were 
thrown  into  the  well  there  by  ancient  vandals. 

There  is  also  one  other  object  visible  from  here, 
which  it  will  be  instructive  for  us  to  examine,  before 
we  visit  the  great  Gizeh  cemetery.  Notice  that  mass- 
ive stone  tablet  against  the  wall  on  the  right  of  our 
statue.  That  represents  roughly  the  front  of  an  ancient 
Egyptian  house,  with  the  tall,  narrow  door  in  the  mid- 
dle. Of  course,  it  is  but  a model  much  reduced  in  size. 
Such  a house-front  carved  in  stone  was  put  against 


Position  10.  Map  4. 


90  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  west  wall  of  every  tomb  chapel,  such  as  we  shall 
later  see;  the  object  being  to  provide  for  the  deceased 
a door,  through  which  he  might  come  back  from  the 
world  of  the  dead  in  the  west,  and  rejoin  the  world  of 
the  living  in  his  tomb  chapel  and  there  enjoy  the  of- 
ferings of  food,  drink,  clothing  and  various  other 
necessities  constantly  kept  there  by  his  surviving  rela- 
tives. We  call  such  a tablet  a “false  door.” 

Position  11,  The  famous  u'ooden  statue  called 
the  Shekh  El-Beled,  in  the  Cairo  Museum 

This  is  perhaps  a more  remarkable  work  than  the 
one  which  we  have  just  studied.  You  perceive  at 
once  that  the  softer  material  has  here  permitted  the 
artist  greater  flexibility  and  life-likeness.  But  what 
a totally  different  person ! Only  a nobleman  in  that 
ancient  day  could  have  afforded  to  employ  the  court 
artists  on  such  a work  as  this ; he  is  a noble  then,  but 
a good-natured,  pudgy-faced,  vulgarly  self-contented 
individual,  the  very  opposite  of  the  divine  Pharaoh 
looking  out  upon  us  with  a level  glance  of  calm  and 
lofty  superiority.  Here,  then,  is  the  comfortable  and 
self-satisfied  Egyptian  noble  of  a distinctly  lower  class 
than  the  Pharaoh,  just  as  he  appeared  upon  his  well- 
stocked  estate,  leaning  up>on  his  staff ; as  he  was  wont 
to  do,  when  the  sleek  herds  and  snowy  flocks  were  led 
before  him  for  inspection,  as  we  see  them  so  often  in 
the  relief  sculptures  of  the  tomb  chapels. 

This  is  a work  of  the  Old  Empire,  and  in  spite  of 
the  scars  of  5,000  years,  the  whole  preserves  an  air 
of  vivacity  which  is  surprising.  But  what  must  it 
have  been  when  it  left  the  hand  of  the  artist ! Its  sur- 
face was  covered  with  linen  deftly  glued  on;  into  the 


Positions  10,  11.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


91 


texture  of  the  linen  was  rubbed  a paste  or  stucco  form- 
ing a perfectly  smooth  surface  for  the  reception  of  the 
colors ; for  this  statue,  like  almost  all  Egyptian 
sculpture,  was  colored  in  the  hues  of  life.  Besides 
this,  the  eyes  were  inlaid  of  transparent  rock  crystal, 
polished  until  it  shone  like  glass,  in  the  middle  being 
an  inlaid  circle  of  black  crystal  representing  the  iris, 
in  the  center  of  which  is  a silver  nail,  a perfect  counter- 
feit of  the  pupil.  Such  an  eye,  exquisitely  put  together 
and  mounted  in  a copper  socket,  was  set  into  the  hol- 
low left  for  it,  and  to-day  these  eyes  look  out  with 
a gleam  of  life  that  in  some  cases  is  fairly  uncanny. 
The  modeling  of  the  face  is  done  with  unrivaled  skill, 
but  in  that  of  the  body  there  was  little  opportunity 
for  the  sculptor,  as  the  contours  of  the  muscular  de- 
velopment were  so  lost  in  fat  that  they  have  disap- 
peared. The  right  foot  and  most  of  the  left  leg  have 
been  restored. 

Large  numbers  of  portrait  statues,  of  just  this  sort, 
but  wrought  in  stone,  have  been  found  in  the  tombs 
of  the  Old  Kingdom,  walled  up  in  secret  chambers, 
where  they  were  never  seen  by  friends  or  relatives. 
The  sculptor  therefore  did  not  make  them  with  the 
idea  that  they  were  to  adorn  a niche  in  a villa,  or  be 
erected  in  a public  square ; he  knew  that  his  work  was 
to  be  entombed  with  the  dead,  and  shrouded  forever 
in  darkness.  What  then  was  his  object  in  bestowing 
upon  these  figures  such  unlimited  time  and  pains  to 
render  them  true  and  vivacious  portraits?  The  Egyp- 
tian believed  that  the  survival  of  a person  in  the  here- 
after depended  upon  his  connection  with  a body,  such 
as  he  had  animated  during  his  earthly  life.  Without 
such  a body,  the  personality  is  annihilated  and  disap- 
pears. Hence  their  embalmment  of  the  body,  which 


Po.sitton  11.  Map  4. 


92  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

is  but  an  effort  to  insure  to  the  departed  in  the  future 
life  the  use  of  the  same  body  which  he  had  possessed 
before  death.  But  the  Egyptian  conceived  that  the 
mummy  might  be  destroyed  or  perish  with  age.  These 
portrait  statues  then  were  intended  to  be  more  durable 
bodies,  false  bodies,  which  should  take  the  place  of 
the  real  bodies  when  the  latter  should  have  perished. 
The  statue  would  then  still  serve  the  deceased  as  his  old 
body  had  done,  connecting  him,  as  he  thought,  with  the 
world  of  real  and  substantial  existence.  Thus  it  was 
that  while  the  sculptor  knew  that  his  work  was  to  be 
buried  forever,  he  was  obliged  by  the  person  whose 
portrait  he  executed  from  life,  to  make  an  exact  re- 
production of  his  model’s  person.  In  this  art  the 
sculptors  of  the  Old  Kingdom  have  never  been  sur- 
passed. This  is  acknowledged  even  by  classical  archae- 
ologists, for  the  well-known  Qiarles  Perrot  says : “It 
must  be  acknowledged  that  they  (the  Memphite 
artists)  produced  works  which  are  not  to  be  surpassed 
in  their  way  by  the  greatest  portraits  of  modern 
Europe.” 

Wherein  then  does  the  special  superiority  of  the 
Greek  consist  ? In  its  ideal  character ; for  his  rare  im- 
agination, his  matchless  sense  of  the  beautiful  created 
for  him  a conception  of  the  human  form,  ennobled  be- 
yond reality,  and  expressing  thoughts  that  are  not  of 
stone  alone ; and  such  conceptions  when  embodied  in 
marble  have  something  of  an  ideal  beauty,  which  of  ne- 
cessity is  vastly  higher  than  any  imitation  of  natural 
detail,  however  perfect.  But  so  long  as  the  Greek  was 
confined  to  the  method  of  the  Egyptian,  he  was  far  in- 
ferior; probably  no  Greek  sculptor  ever  executed  a 
statue  involving  such  tremendous  technical  difficulties 
as  that  of  Khafre,  which  we  have  already  seen.  At 


Position  11.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


93 


first,  indeed,  the  Greek  imitated  the  Egyptian  and  was 
influenced  by  him,  as  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the 
matter  of  the  left  leg  thrust  forward  as  you  see  it  in 
this  statue.  All  standing  Egyptian  statues  are  thus 
represented,  but  the  reason  for  it  is  a matter  of  too 
great  length  for  us  to  enter  upon  here.  Now  the 
earliest  Greek  Apollos,  or  so-called  Apollos,  like  that  of 
Tenea  now,  in  the  Glyptothek  at  Munich,  are  thus  rep- 
resented as  standing  with  the  left  foot  forward,  a clear 
evidence  of  Egyptian  influence.  And  we  must  not  for- 
get either,  that  these  statues  which  we  have  been  study- 
ing are  2,000  years  older  than  those  earliest  Apollos. 
But  when  the  fine  spiritual  endowment  of  the  Greek 
applied  itself  fully  to  sculpture,  it  took  the  superb  tech- 
nical equipment  inherited  from  Egypt,  and  applied  it  to 
higher  ends  than  those  which  had  developed  sculpture 
on  the  Nile.  For  you  see  that  this  statue  before  us 
is  purely  mortuary ; yet  even  working  for  these  purely 
utilitarian  ends,  the  Egyptian  sculptor  sometimes 
caught  the  spirit  of  his  model,  and  we  observe  how  he 
has  put  some  of  the  kingliness  of  the  monarch  into  the 
magnificent  statue  of  Khafre,  so  that  after  all  some- 
thing of  the  soul  of  the  proud  Pharaoh  has  gone  into 
the  stone  through  the  brain  and  the  cunning  hand  of 
the  sculptor,  producing  in  some  degree  an  ideal  crea- 
tion. But  traces  of  this  are  rare  in  Egypt,  and  else- 
where are  found  chiefly  in  those  scenes  from  nature 
which  he  delighted  to  put  into  the  tomb  chapels,  where 
we  sometimes  find  a loving  fidelity  to  the  beautiful 
world  about  him,  and  a fine  sincerity,  which  appeal 
strongly  to  the  modem  heart. 

Incidentally  this  statue  offers  interesting  evidence 
of  the  fact  that  the  Egyptian  of  to-day  is  physically 
just  what  he  was  in  the  days  of  the  Pharaohs.  When 


Position  11.  Map  4. 


94  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Mlariette  discovered  this  figure,  and  it  was  raised  from 
the  dust  and  rubbish  of  five  thousand  years,  the  peas- 
ants employed  on  the  excavations  noticed  such  a strik- 
ing resemblance  between  its  features  and  those  of  the 
sheik  of  their  modern  village  that  they  all  cried  out 
with  one  accord:  “Shekh  el-Beled,”  which  means 
“sheik  of  the  village.”  The  statue  has  been  commonly 
known  under  this  name,  even  among  archaeologists, 
ever  since. 

Position  12,  The  body  of  Sethos  I,  who  lived 
in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century  B.  C., 
Museum  at  Cairo 

What  would  you  say  if  you  might  look  upon  the 
face  of  King  David,  of  Solomon,  or  of  Josiah?  But 
this  king  before  us,  upon  whose  actual  features  we 
look,  almost  as  if  he  had  died  but  yesterday,  lived  and 
reigned  centuries  before  the  Hebrew  monarchy  began. 
Sethos  I was  the  second  king  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  and 
his  reign  fell  just  after  the  middle  of  the  14th 
century  B.  C.  The  Hebrews  were  toiling  in  Egypt 
then,  when  the  utterance  of  these  very  lips  was  the 
supreme  decree  of  the  state;  for  his  son,  Ramses  II, 
was  probably  the  Pharaoh  of  the  oppression.  Those 
arms,  now  folded  in  repose,  once  bore  the  sword  in 
triumph  through  the  very  land  where  the  Hebrews 
afterward  gained  their  home.  This  tall  form  once 
towered  in  the  speeding  chariot,  scattering  death  and 
destruction  among  the  Beduin  kindred  of  the  Hebrews, 
as  they  sought  to  invade  and  possess  the  land  of 
Palestine.  It  is  all  depicted  on  the  walls  of  the  great 
Karnak  temple,  where  we  shall  see  it  when  we  arrive 
at  Thebes. 


Positions  11,  12.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


95 


The  Egyptians  believed  that  such  a body  as  this  was 
absolutely  indispensable  to  the  future  existence  of  the 
person,  and  we  have  seen  that  they  even  wrought  false 
bodies,  portrait  statues  in  stone  or  wood,  to  take  the 
place  of  this  real  body,  should  the  latter  ever  suffer 
destruction.  The  process  of  preservation  was  easy  in 
a country  of  so  dry  a climate,  where  a body  buried  on 
the  margin  of  the  desert  above  the  reach  of  the  Nile 
but  without  other  precaution,  will  desiccate  and  after 
thousands  of  years  be  exhumed  in  an  astonishingly  per- 
fect condition.  When  the  climate  was  aided  by  artifi- 
cial means,  you  see  before  you  what  an  amazing  dur- 
ability was  imparted  to  the  frail  body,  which  in  other 
climates  perishes  in  a comparatively  short  time.  There 
were  various  means  and  processes  of  embalmment 
suited  to  the  purses  of  the  different  families  seeking 
the  embalmer’s  services,  and  although  the  process  was, 
of  course,  unused  and  unknown  in  the  earliest  times, 
it  rapidly  spread  after  it  was  once  introduced,  and  long 
before  Sethos  Fs  time  the  practice  of  it  had  become  a 
regular  profession,  demanding  the  services  of  thou- 
sands of  men.  In  course  of  time,  although  the  cus- 
tom ceased  in  later  Roman  days,  the  tombs  of  Egypt 
became  glutted  with  millions  of  such  bodies.  When 
we  remember  that  three  generations  of  five  or  six  mil- 
lions of  people  died  every  century,  and  that  a large 
proportion  of  these  were  embalmed  for  probably  over 
3,000  years,  we  shall  not  wonder  that  we  find  large 
cavernous  tombs  with  the  mummies  piled  in  like  cord 
wood  to  the  very  ceiling.  In  the  body  of  this  king  you 
can  clearly  see  the  masses  of  aromatic  gums  and  the 
like,  that  have  been  used  to  fill  up  the  interior  cavities, 
from  which  the  perishable  organs  have  been  removed. 
These  latter  were  also  preserved  in  four  jars,  which 


Position  12.  Map  4. 


9G  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

in  the  tomb  were  placed  beside  the  body.  The  top  of 
each  jar  was  carved  in  the  form  of  a genius,  to  whose 
special  protection  each  was  committed. 

Such  a king  was  laid  away  in  great  state,  wearing 
the  splendid  regalia  of  gold,  silver  and  costly  stones, 
with  which  he  had  been  adorned  in  life.  Of  these 
things  he  had  need  in  the  hereafter,  and  they  were 
necessarily  placed  in  the  tomb  with  him  or  actually 
upon  his  body.  The  result  of  this  was  that  the  tombs 
of  the  kings,  of  his  nobles  and  officials,  were  systemat- 
ically robbed  from  the  earliest  times,  for  the  rich 
booty  awaiting  the  successful  plunderer  was  too  tempt- 
ing to  be  resisted.  Thus  we  shall  find  that  the  pyra- 
mids and  rock-hewn  tombs,  which  we  shall  later  visit, 
have  all  been  completely  cleared  out,  and  in  most  cases 
the  body  has  disappeared.  The  tomb  of  this  king 
before  us  was  early  robbed,  but  the  later  kings,  seeing 
their  inability  to  protect  the  old  royal  tombs,  took  out 
many  of  the  bodies  of  their  ancestors  and  concealed 
them  in  a common  hiding  place,  where  they  were  dis- 
covered by  the  natives,  and  in  1881  were  taken  out, 
revealing  to  the  astonished  modern  world,  the  faces 
of  men  who  had  swayed  the  destinies  of  a great  nation, 
and  held  the  dominant  power  in  western  Asia 
3,500  years  ago.  When  we  reach  Thebes,  we  shall  see 
the  place  where  these  royal  bodies  were  concealed 
(Position  74).  Meantime  before  we  leave  the 
museum,  let  us  at  least  glance  at  the  splendid  jewelry 
worn  by  these  antique  kings,  in  the  days  of  Abraham, 
which  proved  so  disastrous  an  appurtenance  of  the 
royal  dead. 


Position  12.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  TPIROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  97 

Position  13.  The  magnificent  jeivelry  of  the 
Pharaohs  (Queen  Ahhotep,  seventeenth  cen- 
tury B,  C.),  Cairo  Museum 

Little  wonder  that  the  orientals  of  Pharaonic  times 
could  not  resist  such  magnificent  plunder  as  this ! 
These  luxurious  adornments  were  found  with  the  body 
of  Queen  Ahhotep  at  Thebes  in  1860.  She  lived  late 
in  the  17th  century  B.  C,  as  Egypt  was  emerging  from 
her  struggle  with  her  foreign  lords,  the  Hyksos,  the 
mother  of  whose  conqueror,  Ahmosis,  the  queen  was ; 
and  although  under  foreign  oppression,  and  fighting  a 
long  and  exhausting  war,  the  royal  house  possessed 
such  splendid  regalia  as  these.  In  the  middle  is  a 
golden  boat  resting  upon  a wooden  carriage  with 
wheels  of  bronze.  Within  it  are  a crew  of  silver,  while 
the  figure  of  the  king  in  the  middle,  the  captain  and 
steersman  are  of  gold.  Just  beyond  it  is  another  boat 
with  crew  at  the  oars  as  in  the  first;  it  is  all  of  silver. 
On  the  right  of  this  boat  you  see  a small  war  hatchet 
and  then  a beautiful  mirror  of  silver  bronze  with  a han- 
dle of  wood  overlaid  with  gold.  Nearer  us  is  the 
magnificent  battle  axe  of  King  Ahmose,  which 
he  carried  only  on  ceremonial  occasions  and  never 
actually  used  in  battle.  It  is  therefore  gorgeously 
wrought ; the  cedar  handle  is  overlaid  with  gold, 
the  bands  of  costly  stones ; the  bronze  head  is  like- 
wise overlaid  with  gold,  through  which  ornamental 
figures  are  incised.  The  dagger  beside  it  is  one  of 
the  finest  pieces  in  the  case ; the  blade  exquisitely 
damascened  in  gold  on  bronze,  a style  later  taken  up 
and  copied  in  Mycenaean  art.  Here  in  this  corner  is  a 
flexible  golden  chain,  36  inches  long,  of  the  finest 
workmanship.  At  each  end  of  it  is  the  head  of  a 
goose  in  gold,  while  pendant  in  the  middle  is  a golden 


Position  13.  Map  4« 


98  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

scarabseus,  inlaid  with  lapis  lazuli.  The  large  breast 
ornament  at  this  end  of  the  case  is  entirely  of  gold ; 
at  either  end  is  a hawk’s  head,  and  the  pendant  bands 
hanging  in  curves  from  these  are  made  up  of  rosettes, 
flowers,  blossoms  and  heads  of  animals.  The  rectangu- 
lar object  propped  up  on  a slanting  card  before  the 
wheels  of  the  boat,  is  a superb  breast  ornament  or  pec- 
toral, with  a gold  frame  and  inlay  of  brilliantly  colored 
costly  stones.  Besides  these,  there  are  bracelets  of 
gold,  beads  and  rings  of  the  same  metal,  golden  flies 
suspended  from  a chain  and  used  as  an  order,  or 
honorable  decoration  conferred  by  the  king  upon  de-" 
serving  nobles  or  oflicials.  Even  the  remains  of  a fan 
are  here,  the  handle  being  of  wood  wrought  with  gold, 
in  which  one  may  see  the  holes,  where  once  the  ostrich 
feathers  of  which  it  was  composed  were  inserted.  It 
must  have  been  a royal  spectacle  indeed  which  the 
queen  and  the  other  wearers  of  these  ornaments  made, 
when  they  appeared  in  all  the  glory  of  such  a rich 
display. 

The  workmanship  of  these  pieces  is  such  as  no 
modern  goldsmith  need  be  ashamed  to  own,  and  yet 
they  were  made  imthe  17th  century  B.  C.  In  neighbor- 
ing cases  are  equally  splendid  regalia  belonging  to 
princesses  of  the  12th  Dynasty,  2000  years  B.  C.,  in  the 
days  of  Abraham ; while  near  by  are  four  bracelets 
found  on  the  arm  of  a 1st  Dynasty  princess,  whose  body 
had  perished,  her  arm  having  been  torn  off  by  some 
marauder  and  concealed  in  a niche  in  the  wall  at  an 
early  date.  There  it  was  found  by  Petrie.  These 
bracelets  are  the  earliest  jewelry  known  and  doubtless 
date  from  the  middle  of  the  fourth  thousand  years  be- 
fore Christ.  No  wonder  that  the  Hebrews,  little  skilled 
in  the  arts  and  crafts,  should  have  sent  up  to  Phoenecia 


Position  13.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


99 


( which  had  by  that  time  imported  Egyptian  arts)  for 
the  necessary  craftsmen  to  make  beautiful  the  temple 
at  Jerusalem. 

And  now,  as  we  leave  the  museum,  let  us  first  look 
at  a monument,  which  directly  refers  to  the  Hebrews 
who  were  in  Egypt  at  the  time  these  splendid  royal 
jewels  before  us  were  made. 

Position  14:.  The  Stela  of  Amenophis  III,  re-used 
by  Merneptah,  and  bearing  the  earliest 
mention  of  Israel;  Cairo 

This  remarkable  stela  or  stone  tablet  is  for  several 
reasons  one  of  the  most  interesting  monuments  even 
in  this  great  museum,  where  there  is  so  much  of  un- 
usual interest,  and  when  you  have  heard  its  history  I 
think  you  will  agree  with  me.  It  is  an  enormous  stela, 
hewn  out  of  black  gjanite,  ten  feet  three  inches  high, 
five  feet  four  inches  wide,  and  thirteen  inches  thick. 
On  this  side  it  bears  a long  inscription  of  King  Ameno- 
phis III,  who  lived  at  the  height  of  Egypt’s  greatest 
power,  before  the  downfall  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  in  the 
middle  of  the  14th  century  B.  C.  The  inscription  nar- 
rates the  king’s  extensive  temple  buildings  for  the  god 
Amon,  and  over  the  inscription  you  see  the  king  twice 
represented  as  offering  to  the  god  Amon.  The  two 
figures  of  the  king  are  near  the  outer  edge,  and  those  of 
the  god,  back  to  back  in  the  middle.  Curving  over 
their  heads  is  the  winged  sun-disk,  and  the  inscriptions 
scattered  among  the  figures  contain  the  names  of  the 
king  and  the  god,  with  the  promises  of  the  latter  insur- 
ing the  Pharaoh  long  life,  power,  health  and  happi- 
ness. The  king  erected  this  splendid  monument  in  his 
mortuary  temple  on  the  west  shore  of  the  Nile  at 


Positions  13,  14.  Map  4. 


100  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Thebes,  behind  the  great  colossi  of  the  plain,  which 
we  shall  visit  there  (Position  64). 

When  his  son,  Amenophis  IV,  or  Ikhnaton,  intro- 
duced a new  religion  and  attempted  to  exterminate 
the  worship  of  Amon,  he  sent  his  craftsmen  all  over 
the  land  erasing  the  name  of  Amon  wherever  they 
could  find  it,  and  destroying  all  monuments  erected  in 
honor  of  the  hated  god.  These  workmen  found  this 
stela  in  the  temple  of  the  king’s  father  behind  the 
colossi,  and  they  chiseled  away  the  figures  of  Amon 
in  the  middle,  as  well  as  almost  the  entire  inscription 
below,  because  it  recorded  the  temples  built  in  Amon’s 
honor  by  the  king’s  father,  whose  own  figure,  however, 
they  respected.  The  splendid  monument  was  thus  de- 
stroyed. 

But  again,  after  the  fall  and  death  of  the  Amon- 
hating  Ikhnaton,  Sethos  I,  who  followed  him  after  an 
interval,  sent  his  craftsmen  about  the  country  restor- 
ing the  monuments  which  had  been  defaced  during  the 
reform.  His  workmen,  therefore,  finding  this  defaced 
stela  in  the  temple  of  Amenophis  III,  carefully  recut 
all  that  had  been  erased,  sufficient  traces  remaining  in 
most  cases  so  that  they  could  follow  them  with  the 
chisel.  That  dark  lower  portion  at  the  bottom  was  un- 
touched by  Ikhnaton’s  destroyers,  and  those  are  the 
hieroglyphs  of  Amenophis  Ill’s  original  inscription, 
but  the  lighter  portions  above  are  the  recutting  of 
Sethos  I.  Between  the  two  Amon  figures,  in  the  middle 
at  the  top,  Sethos  I has  inscribed  a short  record  of  his 
restoration,  in  that  prominent  vertical  column  of  hiero- 
glyphs. It  reads : “Restoration  of  the  monument, 
which  King  Sethos  I made,  for  his  father  Amon-Re, 
king  of  gods.” 


Position  14.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


101 


This,  then,  was  the  pious  work  of  the  king  whose 
face  you  have  just  looked  upon.  But  under  his 
grandson,  Merneptah,  the  temple  which  guarded  this 
stela  fell  on  evil  days;  for,  following  the  example  of 
his  father,  Sethos  Fs  son  Ramses  II,  Merneptah  began 
demolishing  the  temples  of  his  great  predecessors,  in 
order  to  obtain  building  materials  for  his  own  works. 
He  razed  the  temple  containing  this  stela  to  the  ground, 
and  upon  discovering  the  stela  immediately  appro- 
priated it  for  his  own  mortuary  temple  but  a few  hun- 
dred feet  away.  Placing  it  with  this  inscribed  face  to 
the  wall,  he  inscribed  upon  its  unoccupied  back  a tri- 
umphant inscription  of  twenty-eight  lines,  recording 
his  victory  over  the  Libyans  in  the  fifth  year  of  his 
reign.  The  last  three  lines  of  the  inscription,  his  court 
flatterers  devoted  to  a song  of  victory,  in  which  the 
singer,  sweeping  the  whole  northern  horizon  from  west 
to  east,  exults  in  the  power  of  the  king  over  the  nations, 
as  he  enumerates  them  one  by  one.  As  he  reaches 
Palestine  he  says : 

“Israel  is  desolated ; his  grain  is  not, 

Palestine  has  become  as  widows  for  Egypt.” 

This  is  the  earliest  mention  of  the  Hebrews  (their  own 
literature  being  much  later),  and  indicates  that  at  least 
part  of  the  people  were  at  this  time  in  Palestine.  Thus 
we  gain  from  this  inscription  a swift  and  uncertain 
glimpse  of  the  Israelites  suffering  from  the  Pharaoh’s 
power  in  Palestine,  before  they  appear  as  a nation  there 
in  the  Old  Testament,  but  it  does  not  settle  the  vexed 
question  of  the  date  of  the  Hebrew  exodus. 

But  we  cannot  wander  further  through  these  halls; 
the  land  about  us  lies  more  thickly  strewn  with  mighty 
ruins  than  does  any  other  land  in  all  the  world,  and  to 
these  we  must  now  devote  ourselves,  incidentally  seeing 


Position  14.  Map  4. 


102  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

as  much  as  we  can  of  the  life  of  the  present-day  Egyp- 
tians. We  had  a view  of  the  pyramids  across  the  domes 
and  minarets  of  this  city  (Position  4,  page  G9),  but 
we  must  now  visit  them  and  view  them  at  close  range. 
This  will  carry  us  out  of  the  town  and  across  the  Nile 
bridge,  which  is  but  a step  from  this  museum.  Let 
us  therefore  proceed  to  the  bridge  and  enjoy  our  first 
view  of  the  Nile  and  its  shipping,  on  our  way  to  the 
pyramids.  Find  on  Map  4 the  red  lines  numbered  15 
on  the  west  side  of  Cairo,  which  show  our  next  stand- 
point and  the  direction  in  which  we  are  to  be  looking — 
northwest. 


Position  15.  The  great  Nile  Bridge  at  Cairo 
oj>en  for  the  passage  of  the  daily  fleet  of 
cargo  boats 

Every  day  at  noon  this  long  bridge  over  the  river 
is  opened  to  permit  the  passage  of  the  accumulated 
fleet,  and  as  they  pass,  we  are  here  taking  our  first 
view  of  the  life-stream  of  Egypt.  On  our  right  is 
the  city,  now  quite  out  of  our  field  of  vision ; before 
us  and  on  our  left  is  the  river,  down  which  we  look 
northwestward  for  a long'  vista,  and  a still  more  distant 
point  may  be  discerned  through  the  bridge  itself,  now 
turned  on  the  right.  As  soon  as  the  bridge  is  opened, 
the  craft  from  up  river  pass  quickly  through  by  force 
of  the  current  alone,  only  raising  their  canvas  after 
they  have  cleared  the  bridge.  Then  we  see  the  sails 
of  the  fleet  from  below  beating  back  and  forth  across 
the  current,  maneuvering  for  position  as  at  a yacht 
race,  until,  when  the  right  point  is  reached,  they  make 
a dash  for  the  draw.  The  picturesque  triangular  sails 
cross  and  recross  like  a flock  of  white-winged  gulls  at 
sea ; their  firm  lines  are  sharply  defined  against  the 


Position  15.  Map  4, 


EGYPT  THROUGH  TPIE  STEREOSCOPE 


103 


deep  green  of  the  palms  on  the  further  shore;  the 
bright  sun  casts  a golden  glow  over  the  whole  scene, 
and  the  bluest  of  blue  skies  smiles  overhead.  The  cargo 
of  these  rude  craft  is  garden  produce,  grain,  pottery, 
brick,  sugar-cane,  sometimes  live  stock,  etc.  They  once 
carried  all  the  produce  of  Egypt,  but  since  the  construc- 
tion of  the  railway,  and  the  introduction  of  the  steam- 
boat, their  traffic  has  been  much  diminished.  They  are, 
however,  not  less  picturesque  than  they  were  before, 
and  it  is  among  the  chief  delights  of  the  visitor  to 
Egypt,  to  watch  the  sails  upon  the  Nile.  They  stir 
the  imagination  not  less  than  the  hoary  monuments 
distributed  along  the  river,  which  has  done  so  much 
for  this  land,  the  child  of  the  Nile.  For  thousands 
of  years  it  has  carried  the  traffic  of  millions  of  people 
in  craft  like  these,  although  these  are  but  pigmies  com- 
pared with  the  splendid  barges  of  the  Pharaohs.  Ram- 
ses III  tells  of  a sacred  barge  which  he  built  for  the 
Karnak  temple  at  Thebes,  which  was  no  less  than  224 
feet  long,  and  we  shall  later  see  the  obelisk  of  Thutmo- 
sis  I,  which  was  brought  down  from  the  first  cataract 
in  a boat  200  feet  long  and  one-third  as  wide.  The 
first  of  these  craft  was  built  in  the  12th  century  B.  C., 
and  the  second  in  the  16th. 

This  long  boat  moored  to  the  pier  of  the  bridge,  is 
a floating  dock  for  steamboat  passengers,  for  the  steam- 
boat is  now  an  every-day  sight  upon  this  ancient  river. 
We,  however,  shall  not  employ  a steamer  for  our  voy- 
age up  the  river ; we  shall  go  in  a sailboat  rigged  like 
these,  but  with  comfortable  cabin  arrangements,  of 
which  we  shall  say  more  when  we  have  seen  one. 

As  soon  as  this  bridge  has  closed  we  shall  cross  to 
the  further  shore,  where  you  see  the  green  palms  be- 


Positlon  15.  Map  4. 


104  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

hind  the  sails.  They  are  on  the  island  of  Bulak  (Map 
4),  and  just  behind  the  first  sail  on  the  left  of  the 
bridge  you  may  catch  a glimpse  of  the  Gezireh  Pal- 
ace Hotel,  which  we  saw  from  the  citadel.  We  shall, 
however,  turn  away  from  the  palms  before  the  hotel, 
and  proceeding  to  the  left,  through  others  just  as  pic- 
turesque, we  shall  cross  to  the  west  side  of  the  river 
and  go  southward ; then  westward  toward  the  distant 
desert  plateau,  which  we  saw  from  the  east  side  of 
Cairo,  when  we  first  arrived  (Position  4).  As  we 
leave  the  Nile  the  pyramids  will  suddenly  loom  upon 
the  western  horizon.  There  we  shall  stop  and  study 
them  from  afar.  You  should  trace  this  route  upon 
Map  4 to  the  point  where  the  next  stop  is  to  be  made. 
You  will  notice  that  the  pyramids  are  about  seven 
miles  southwest  of  Cairo.  Our  next  position  is  shown 
by  the  red  lines  numbered  16.  We  shall  be  looking 
southwest. 

Position  16.  The  road  to  the  Pyramids,  west- 
ward toward  Gizeh 

The  gay  and  motley  array  of  the  Cairo  streets,  with 
their  thousand  cries  and  the  hum  of  the  particolored 
bazaars — all  this  is  behind  us.  We  stand  far  out  in 
the  rich  verdure  of  the  Nile  bottoms,  and  with  Cairo  at 
our  backs,  we  look  southwestward  across  the  level,  and 
there  boldly  breaking  the  skyline  are  those  venerable 
forms  of  which  we  have  so  often  dreamed,  the  pyra- 
mids of  Gizeh.  We  saw  them,  to  be  sure,  from  the 
heights  east  of  Cairo ; but  from  there  they  barely  glim- 
mered above  the  misty  horizon-line.  Here  they  stand 
out  for  the  first  time  in  all  their  proud  defiance,  bid- 
ding time  do  his  worst.  What  a rush  of  memories  the 
first  glimpse  of  them  evokes!  But  let  us  disregard 


Positions  15,  16.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


105 


these  for  a moment ; we  shall  have  ample  time  for  them 
before  we  have  done  with  Gizeh,  and  at  this  point 
much  practical  information  is  necessary. 

On  our  right  stretches  away  toward  the  desert  the 
high  road  to  the  pyramids.  It  is  literally  a “high  road,” 
for  were  it  not  so  raised  upon  an  embankment,  there 
would  be  no  communication  between  Cairo  and  the 
pyramids  in  the  time  of  the  inundation,  save  by  boat; 
and  the  natives  would  be  unable  to  reach  the  mar- 
kets of  the  town.  The  beautiful  lebbek  trees  which 
line  the  road  on  either  hand,  planted  by  Ismail  Pacha, 
make  the  ride  to  the  pyramids  shaded  and  delightful, 
in  a land  where  shade  is  a rarity  and  the  sun  beats 
down  with  fierce  and  almost  vertical  rays.  These  trees 
attain  a height  of  80  feet  in  forty  years,  and  spread  far 
and  wide,  casting  more  shade  than  any  other  tree. 
Beside  the  road  flows  one  of  the  innumerable  irriga- 
tion canals,  which  we  shall  later  view  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Great  Pyramid  out  yonder,  where  we  shall 
command  a wide  view  of  the  broad  Nile  flats,  which 
stretch  away  from  the  road  on  our  either  hand,  and  be 
able  to  follow  them  with  our  eyes  to  the  dim  horizon, 
where  Cairo  lies  behind  us.  You  notice  how  the  plain 
abruptly  terminates  out  by  the  foot  of  the  pyramids. 
That  sandy  slope  which  leads  up  to  their  bases,  is  a 
wind-borne  invasion  from  the  Sahara  desert,  known  in 
classic  times  as  the  Libyan  Desert,  on  the  margin  of 
which  the  pyramids  stand.  Those  sands  cover  the 
limestone  cliffs  of  the  Nile  canon ; but  the  cliffs  are 
here  much  lower  than  those  which  we  shall  find  higher 
up  the  river.  They  are  here  dropping  gradually  to  the 
level  of  the  one-time  shores  of  that  great  prehistoric 
bay,  which  the  Nile  has  now  filled  with  soil  and  trans- 
formed into  the  Delta,  for  this  richest  triangle  of  soil 


Position  16.  Map  4. 


106  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

in  the  world  begins  just  here  on  our  right,  north  of  the 
road.  At  the  foot  of  the  bluff  on  our  extreme  left,  you 
discern  the  houses  of  the  modern  village  of  Kafr. 

Little  do  the  peasants  who  dwell  in  the  village  dream 
of  the  life  which  once  teemed  and  swarmed  in  busy 
streets,  occupying  these  very  fields  before  us,  which  they 
now  turn  with  wooden  plows.  For  here  lay  the  resi- 
dence city  of  the  Ith  Dynasty,  the  royal  residence  of  the 
splendid  Pharaohs  who  built  the  pyramids  before  us. 
For  perhaps  two  hundred  years  it  was  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment for  this  great  people,  and  here  lived  the  man 
at  whose  will  the  mightiest  mass  of  masonry  ever 
wrought  by  human  hands  was  reared.  Now  all  that 
remains  of  the  city  is  a scanty  remnant  of  the  wall, 
rising  here  and  there  from  the  shrouding  sands,  which 
have  protected  it  from  the  peasant’s  plow.  When  that 
city  was  laid  out,  nearly  3000  years  before  Qirist,  the 
jutting  desert  headland  yonder,  now  occupied  by  the 
pyramids,  was  a bare  waste  of  sand.  The  Egyptian 
always  loved  to  lay  his  dead  where  his  great  sun-god 
died  and  went  to  rest,  shrouded  in  the  glory  of  the 
desert  sunset  with  every  closing  day.  Hence  as  we 
ascend  the  river,  we  shall  find  almost  all  the  ceme- 
teries on  the  west  side,  in  the  cliffs  which  formed  the 
Egyptian’s  western  horizon,  behind  which  the  sun 
dropped  every  night.  Thus  this  stretch  of  desert,  upon 
which  we  are  looking,  being  immediately  on  the  west 
of  the  now  vanished  city,  naturally  became  its  ceme- 
tery. But  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  first  Pharaoh 
of  the  Dynasty,  having  selected  this  desert  headland 
as  the  site  of  his  pyramid,  located  his  residence  city 
at  this  place  also,  in  order  that  he  might  always  be 
able  personally  to  inspect  the  progress  of  the  mighty 
monument,  which  was  to  be  his  eternal  resting  place. 


Position  16.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


107 


Thus  there  grew  up  here  a great  cemetery,  where 
five  or  six  generations  of  people  were  laid  away,  and  as 
the  nucleus  of  it  all,  rose  the  vast  pyramids  which  we 
see  before  us.  The  first  and  most  prominent  of  the  group 
is  the  earliest,  and  two  others  retreating  in  order  of 
decreasing  size  as  well  as  age,  extend  southwestward 
in  a line  through  the  diagonal  of  the  first  (Map  5). 
At  the  foot  of  the  first  there  are  three  small  pyramids, 
which  you  are  here  viewing  at  such  an  angle,  that  they 
appear  to  be  at  the  base  of  the  second  pyramid ; while 
at  the  foot  of  the  third  pyramid  there  are  three  more 
small  ones,  of  which  you  can  see  only  one,  at  the  ex- 
treme left  of  the  group.  The  largest  three,  called  for 
convenience,  as  we  have  already  done,  the  first,  sec- 
ond and  third  pyramids,  are  the  tombs  of  three  kings 
of  the  4th  Dynasty,  the  first  being  Khufu,  the  second 
Khafre,  and  the  third  Menkewre  (Map  5).  The 
Greeks,  hearing  these  names  some  2,500  years  later, 
corrupted  them  into  Kheops,  Khefren,  and  Mykerinos 
or  Menkheres.  The  modern  successor  of  these  hoary 
monarchs  of  the  Nile  valley  has  invaded  their  ancient 
cemetery  and  erected  a vice-regal  kiosque,  which  you 
see  at  the  northeast  corner  (the  corner  nearest  us)  of 
the  first  pyramid. 

Now  note  the  relative  location  of  these  pyramids  on 
Map  5.  If  you  will  turn  its  upper  right-hand  corner 
toward  you  and  push  the  map  slightly  away  from  you 
as  you  look,  you  will  be  occupying  to  it  about  the  same 
relative  position  which  we  occupy  in  this  view  facing 
the  west,  with  the  three  pyramids  retreating  in  order  of 
decreasing  size  and  age  toward  the  southwest.  Notice 
at  the  extreme  north  (right)  of  the  map  the  termination 
of  the  road  from  Cairo,  on  which  we  stood,  with  the 


Position  16.  Maps  4,  5. 


108 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


Mena  House  Hotel  just  at  the  beginning  of  the  bend 
toward  the  first  pyramid.  That  road,  the  three  pyra- 
mids and  the  Arabian  village  (Kafr),  will  locate  you 
closely.  Look  also  at  Map  4 again  where  the  red  V 
(16)  shows  exactly  the  extent  of  the  prospect  we  have 
just  viewed.  Returning  to  Map  5,  trace  our  coming 
itinerary  of  the  cemetery.  Having  left  the  road,  we 
shall  view  the  first  pyramid  from  a point  south-south- 
east of  it  (Position  17)  ; we  shall  then  view  it  from 
the  northwest'  (Position  18)  ; then  look  up  the  north- 
east corner  (Position  19)  ; then  climb  it  for  a view 
toward  Cairo  (Position  20),  and  of  the  second  pyra- 
mid (Position  21)  ; and  after  a view  down  the  south- 
west corner  (Position  22),  we  shall  descend  and  ap- 
proach the  entrance  on  the  north  side  (Position  23), 
before  entering  and  viewing  the  grand  gallery  (Posi- 
tion 24;  see  plan  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  page  129). 
Finally  we  shall  inspect  the  granite  sarcophagus  of 
King  Khufu  (Position  25  : see  plan  of  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid, page  129),  the  so-called  temple  by  the  Sphinx 
(Position  26)  and  the  Sphinx  itself  (Position  27). 

But  before  we  leave  this  road  (Position  16)  look  out 
again  toward  the  desert  and  see  how  the  plateau  slopes 
to  the  south  (left)  above  the  village  of  Kafr.  That 
slope  drops  into  a valley  just  out  of  our  range  of  vision 
on  the  left,  and  it  is  from  that  valley  that  we  are  now 
to  view  the  great  pyramid,  crossing  to  reach  it,  a bridge 
over  the  canal.  Note  on  Map  5 the  red  lines  num- 
bered 17  which  give  this  next  position  and  the  range 
and  direction  of  our  vision. 


Position  16.  Maps  4,  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


109 


Position  17 • The  Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh,  a 

tomb  of  5,000  years  ago,  from  the  southeast 

With  Cairo  on  our  right  and  Memphis  behind  us, 
we  look  north-northwestward  to  the  great  Pyramid. 
We  stand  for  the  first  time  on  the  desert  sands.  These 
chattering  boys,  who  clamorously  offer  us  the  backs 
of  their  camels  for  a ride  over  to  the  Sphinx  yonder, 
will  not  contribute  greatly  to  the  meditative  frame  of 
mind,  which  overtakes  one  in  the  presence  of  such  im- 
pressive monuments.  Behind  us,  but  not  within  our 
prosp>ect  is  a stretch  of  the  ancient  wall  of  the  city 
(see  Map  5),  which  was  the  royal  residence  of  the 
king  who  built  yonder  gigantic  tomb.  The  three  small 
pyramids  beside  it  probably  belong  to  members  of  his 
family,  for  Herodotus  says  that  the  middle  one  was 
the  tomb  of  the  daughter  of  Khufu.  In  a line  with 
these,  but  nearer  to  us,  rises  the  gloomy  head  of  the 
Sphinx,  gazing  into  the  rising  sun  and  guarding  this 
city  of  the  dead  as  he  has  done  these  five  thousand 
years  perhaps.  At  the  left  are  the  palm-shaded  graves 
of  the  IVIioslems,  the  modern  descendants  of  the  very 
men  who  inhabited  the  vanished  city  that  once  rose 
around  us.  This  contrast  between  the  humble  sepul- 
chers of  the  men  of  yesterday  and  the  vast  tombs  of 
their  ancestors,  is  one  which  is  symbolical  of  the  fallen 
fortunes  of  the  present-day  Egyptians,  and  one  which 
will  meet  us  very  often  in  our  voyage  up  the  river. 

How  much  lies  between  these  humble  tombs  of  yes- 
terday and  that  hoary  pyramid ! Already  to  the  ancient 
Greeks  it  was  one  of  the  marvelous  survivors  of  an- 
tiquity, which  they  involuntarily  placed  among  the 
seven  wonders  of  the  world ; and  although  all  the  others 
of  the  seven  have  passed  away  and  for  the  most  part 
left  no  trace,  this  wonder  of  all  ages  still  stands — 


Position  17.  Map  5. 


110  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

stands  as  it  had  stood  for  some  eight  hundred  years, 
when  Abraham  looked  across  upon  it  from  his 
Delta  pastures ; stands  as  it  had  done  for  fifteen  hun- 
dred years,  when  the  prophet  of  the  Hebrew  Exodus 
led  forth  his  people.  It  saw  the  sword  sink  from  the 
impotent  hand  of  decadent  Pharaohs,  till  six  hundred 
years  later  it  beheld  the  fierce  soldiery  of  Assyria  scat- 
tering ruin  and  desolation  at  its  feet  and  plundering 
glorious  Thebes;  two  centuries  more  and  it  beheld  the 
Persian  host  pouring  in  through  the  isthmus  like  a 
flood  and  repeating  that  desolation ; two  hundred  years 
later  it  saw  the  triumphant  entry  of  Alexander,  as  he 
marched  beyond  it  to  worship  at  the  desert  shrine  of 
Amon ; three  centuries  more  and  it  beheld  the  legions 
of  Rome,  stationed  from  end  to  end  of  this  valley  and 
bringing  in  the  new  order  of  the  imperial  city ; seven 
hundred  years  more  and  it  saw  the  wild  hordes  of 
Arabia,  surging  in  across  the  Delta  plain,  with  the 
breath  of  the  desert  hot  upon  their  lips  as  they  brought 
to  the  children  of  the  Nile  the  language  and  the  re- 
ligion of  Mohammed ; nine  centuries  later  it  saw  the 
baleful  gleam  of  the  star  and  crescent  rising  in  the 
isthmus  and  heralding  the  oppression  and  misrule  that 
have  ever  followed  the  footprints  of  the  Turk ; three 
hundred  years  more  and  it  shadowed  Napoleon  as  he 
stood  there  at  its  feet,  calling  upon  the  soldiers  of 
France  to  remember  the  centuries  that  looked  down 
upon  them ; arid  within  the  memory  of  almost  all  who 
look  upon  it  now,  it  heard  the  crack  of  the  British  rifles 
at  Tell-el-Kebir.  The  whole  world-drama  from  the 
dawning  of  the  ages  until  now,  has  been  enacted  at 
its  feet ; the  centuries  have  clustered  like  little  children 
around  its  hoary  knees,  and  it  still  stands  and  it  is  still 
the  wonder  of  the  world. 


Position  17.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


111 


These  are  the  thoughts  of  every  one  who  visits  this 
monument  to-day;  they  are  commonplace,  but  who 
can  help  renewing  them  as  we  stand  in  the  presence  of 
a structure  which  has  lived  through  the  whole  span  of 
the  historic  centuries,  to  tell  of  the  power  and  civiliza- 
tion, which  prevailed  in  the  days  that  brought  it  forth. 
It  has  indeed  much  to  tell  us,  and  we  must  begin  its 
study  up  on  the  plateau  from  which  it  rises,  at  the 
northwest  corner,  the  one  diagonally  opposite  that 
which  is  now  nearest  to  us.  We  are  now  about  700 
feet  from  its  base;  our  next  position  will  be  little  over 
100  feet.  We  shall  be  near  enough  to  see  the  courses 
of  stone. 

Position  18.  King  Khnfu’s  tomb,  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid of  Gizeh,  and  the  sepulchers  of  his  nobles, 
from  the  northivest 

Here  we  are  standing  at  a point  of  view,  the  diamet- 
rical opposite  of  that  which  we  occupied  at  Position  17 
(Map  5).  We  are  looking  at  the  northwest  corner  of 
the  great  pyramid,  with  Cairo  on  our  left  and  Memphis 
in  our  front,  behind  the  pyramid.  The  mass  of  the 
vast  pile  begins  to  grow  and  we  are  ready  to  credit 
Herodotus’  statement  that  its  erection  consumed  the 
labor  of  100,000  men  for  twenty  years.  At  the  other 
corner,  from  which  we  have  just  come,  we  were  able  to 
contrast  this  tomb  of  Khufu  with  those  of  his  modem 
descendants ; here  we  may  draw  a similar  contrast  be- 
tween his  and  those  of  his  contemporaries,  whose  low 
and  unpretentious  tombs  we  see  close  to  the  pyramid 
on  our  right.  These  are  but  a few  of  the  many  ma- 
sonry structures  erected  in  this  cemetery  by  the  nobles 
and  officials  of  Khufu,  who  lived  at  his  court  and  car- 
ried on  the  practical  administration  of  his  realm.  Here 


Positions  17,  18.  Map  5. 


112  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

lie  military  commanders,  mining  and  building  en- 
gineers, architects,  chief  treasurers  and  chancellors  of 
the  exchequer,  judges  and  chief  justices,  viziers  and 
prime  ministers,  all  of  whom  lived  and  flourished  in 
that  vanished  world,  and  never  dreamed  of  the  day 
when  not  only  their  civilization,  but  even  their  lan- 
guage should  be  extinct  and  forgotten,  only  to  be  re- 
vived again  by  the  labor  of  whole  generations  of 
scholars. 

In  one  of  these  tombs  lies,  or  rather  once  lay, 
Khufu-onekh,  the  architect  who  built  this  great  pyra- 
mid, and  the  massive  granite  sarcophagus  in  which 
his  coffin  was  deposited  is  now  in  the  museum,  which 
we  visited  in  Cairo. 

These  masonry  tombs  themselves  look  like  trun- 
cated pyramids,  for  the  exterior  of  the  wall  slants 
inward,  or,  as  the  architect  would  say,  has  an  inward 
batter  of  about  75°  ; this  is  a much  steeper  slant  than 
that  of  the  pyramids,  which  is  usually  about  52°.  They 
are  rectangular,  with  the  longest  dimension  in  a north 
and  south  line,  and  with  their  flat  roofs,  they  so  re- 
mind the  natives  of  the  benches  or  terraces  in  their 
own  modem  courts  and  bazaars,  that  they  call  them  by 
the  same  name,  that  is,  “ma^taba,”  a bench  or  terrace. 

These  mastabas  are  not  solid  masonry,  as  you  would 
suppose  in  looking  at  them  here ; hut  this  solid  exterior 
is  only  a revetment  of  masonry,  covering  and  holding 
in  place  a core  of  loose  sand  and  rubble.  In  the  east 
front  there  is  a door  giving  access  to  a chamber,  where 
the  deceased  was  supposed  to  live,  and  to  enjoy  the 
offerings  of  food,  drink  and  clothing  necessary  for  his 
subsistence,  which  his  surviving  relatives  placed  there 
for  him.  The  walls  of  this  chamber,  which  we  may 
call  the  chapel,  were  sculptured  with  beautiful  relief 


Position  18.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  TPIE  STEREOSCOPE  ' 113 

scenes,  representing  the  deceased  and  his  servants  and 
slaves,  engaged  in  all  those  employments  which  had 
occupied  them  in  life : plowing,  sowing,  reaping,  hunt- 
ing, fishing,  cattle-herding,  poultry-raising,  the  work 
of  the  craftsmen  in  metal,  stone,  wood,  ivory,  leather, 
etc.  Potent  charms  were  pronounced  over  these  scenes 
by  the  mortuary  priests,  and  it  was  thought  that  long 
after  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  had  passed  on  to 
join  him,  and  could  no  longer  bring  offerings  to  the 
chapel,  these  scenes  would  be  as  effective  as  the  reali- 
ties which  they  represent,  in  producing  for  him  all  the 
necessities,  as  well  as  furnishing  him  all  the  pastimes 
and  diversions,  to  which  an  Egyptian  gentleman  was 
accustomed.  These  relief-scenes  now  furnish  us  with 
almost  all  that  we  know  regarding  the  life  of  this  re- 
mote period,  and  afford  a fuller  and  more  complete 
picture  than  is  available  for  any  other  people  at  so  re- 
mote an  age. 

On  the  west  wall  of  these  chapel  chambers  is 
the  false  door,  which  we  noticed  in  the  Cairo  Museum 
(Position  10)  ; the  entrance  through  which  the  dead 
passed  in  gaining  access  to  the  chapel.  Beside  this 
chapel  chamber,  and  connected  with  it  or  with  the 
outer  world  at  most  by  a small  tubular  orifice,  or  a mere 
slit  in  the  masonry,  is  a second  chamber,  intended  to 
serve  as  a secret  repository  for  the  portrait  statue  of 
the  deceased,  of  which  we  saw  some  of  the  best  speci- 
mens at  the  museum  in  Cairo  (Positions  10  and  11). 
Thus  only  the  false  body  of  the  dead  was  concealed 
in  this  superstructure  of  masonry;  the  real  body,  the 
mummy,  lies  far  down  in  a chamber  hewn  in  the  heart 
of  the  native  rock  beneath  the  superstructure.  This 
sepulcher  chamber  is  reached  by  a shaft,  which,  passing 
down  through  the  masonry  vertically  into  the  rock  be- 


Position  18.  Map  5. 


114  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

neath,  is  sometimes  eighty  or  ninety  feet  deep,  but 
usually  much  less.  Down  this  shaft  the  mummy  was 
lowered  on  the  day  of  burial,  to  the  sepulcher  chamber 
in  which  the  shaft  terminates,  and  once  safely  deposited 
there,  the  chamber  was  walled  up  and  the  entire  shaft 
was  filled  to  the  top  with  sand,  rubble  and  mortar.  Yet 
nearly  all  the  shafts  of  this  cemetery  have  been  cleared 
out  and  the  chambers  robbed  in  antiquity,  for  the  sake 
of  the  ornaments,  jewelry  and  often  valuable  mortuary 
furniture,  with  which  such  a departed  noble  was  sup- 
plied. 

You  will  see  that  these  tombs  embody  the  be- 
liefs of  the  Egyptian  regarding  the  hereafter ; while 
not  all  his  notions  of  the  future  life  can  thus  find  ex- 
pression in  stone  and  mortar,  several  of  his  funda- 
mental conceptions  concerning  it  are  here  brought  out, 
especially  the  idea  that  the  tomb  was  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  dead,  or  as  the  Egyptian  called  it,  his 
“eternal  house.” 

Tlie  essential  parts  which  we  have  described  in  the 
mastaba,we  shall  expect  to  find  likewise  in  the  pyramid, 
though  the  different  form  of  the  pyramid  necessitates 
some  modification  in  their  arrangement.  Thus  it  is  im- 
possible for  the  shaft  leading  to  the  sepulcher-chamber 
to  pass  down  through  the  top  of  the  pyramid ; hence 
it  is  there  an  inclined  passage,  and  if  you  will  look 
along  the  north  side  of  this  first  pyramid  you  will  dis- 
cern on  our  extreme  left  a rough  depression  in  the 
face  of  the  masonry.  There  is  the  entrance  to  the  in- 
clined passage  leading  into  the  pyramid,  and  there  we 
shall  later  enter. 

But  first  we  must  pass  over  these  heaps  of  masonry, 
along  this  north  face  of  the  pyramid,  past  the  rough 
opening,  to  the  northeast  corner,  where  we  shall  find 


Position  18.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


115 


many  questions  to  engage  us  before  we  make  the  ascent 
of  the  pyramid,  after  which  we  shall  enter  it.  Standing 
at  the  very  corner  of  the  pyramid  we  shall  first  throw 
back  our  heads  and  look  toward  its  summit.  We  shall 
be  near  enough  almost  to  touch  the  stone.  This  posi- 
tion is  given  on  Map  5 by  the  red  lines  numbered  19. 


Position  19.  Looking  up  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  Great  Pyramid,  where  the  tourists  ascend. 

(Raise  the  instrument  and  look  upward) 

Who  but  the  visitor  at  these  pyramids  could  have 
conceived  that  the  hand  of  man  had  ever  reared  such 
a mass  of  masonry  as  this ! Here  we  stand  looking  up 
the  northeast  corner;  we  face  southwestward,  and  our 
line  of  vision  coincides  with  the  diagonal  which  runs 
southwestward  through  the  pyramid  group.  Here 
the  vast  mass  has  full  sway  over  us ; it  overpowers  and 
overwhelms  us.  It  has  sometimes  been  flippantly  said 
that  several  modern  buildings  have  surpassed  it  in 
height;  yet  how  puny  appear  the  one  or  two  slender 
spires  referred  to  beside  this  gigantic  mass  of  solid 
masonry  towering  its  enormous  bulk  well-nigh  five 
hundred  feet  into  the  blue.  See  how  the  great  blocks 
dwindle  and  dwindle  as  the  eye  soars  upward  and  fol- 
lows them  until  they  merge  and  melt  into  the  moun- 
tainous bulk  of  the  mass ; and  still  it  rises  ever  higher, 
to  the  distant  peak  where  the  Arab  waving  his  black 
garment  seems  like  a tiny  insect,  or  a lofty  bird,  soon 
to  be  enveloped  in  that  fleecy  cloud,  which  floats  in 
from  the  west.  What  an  answer  to  Sir  Thomas 
Browne’s  contemptuous  remark  upon  the  builder  of 
this  pile : “To  be  but  pyramidally  extant  is  a fallacy  of 
duration !” 


Position  19.  Map  5. 


IIG  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Here  is  the  very  embodiment  and  potentiality  of 
that  ancient  state  of  which  the  Pharaoh  was  the 
soul.  Think  of  the  organization  of  men  and  means, 
of  force  and  skilled  labor  required  to  quarry  these 
2,300,000  blocks,  each  weighing  about  two  and  a half 
tons,  to  transport  them  across  the  Nile  and  lift  them 
to  the  rising  courses  of  this  ever-growing  monster, 
till  the  cap-stone  is  481  feet  from  the  pavement.  The 
base  of  the  sea  of  stone  which  forms  each  face  is  755 
feet  long,  and  the  square  which  it  forms  on  the  ground 
includes  a field  of  over  thirteen  acres.  When  you  have 
walked  around  it  you  have  gone  over  3,000  feet,  some 
three-fifths  of  a mile.  And  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 
a rise  of  ground  on  the  spot  where  the  pyramid  stands, 
did  not  permit  the  engineer,  who  laid  out  the  ground 
plan,  to  see  his  stakes  from  one  corner  to  the  other, 
but  forced  him  to  measure  up  and  then  down  again, 
the  error  in  the  length  of  the  sides  of  this  square  base 
is  but  sixty-five  one-hundredths  of  an  inch ; and  the 
error  of  angle  at  the  comers  is  but  one  three-hundredth 
part  of  a degree  (00°-00'-12").  This  far  exceeds  the 
accuracy  of  such  masses  of  masonry  in  modern  times, 
for  although  it  may  be  quite  within  his  power,  the 
modern  engineer  finds  no  occasion  for  producing  such 
work.  It  is  accurately  oriented  to  the  cardinal  points. 
But  the  structure  before  us  is  not  the  only  witness  to 
the  amount  and  character  of  the  labor  put  into  it,  for 
the  engineers  of  the  time  have  shot  over  the  face  of  the 
bluff  of  the  plain  below,  a mass  of  waste  chips  from  the 
cutting  and  facing  of  these  blocks,  which  equals  fully 
half  the  bulk  of  the  pyramid  itself. 

Perhaps  you  are  saying  to  yourself  that  this  masonry 
looks  rather  rough  in  exterior  finish  to  be  the  product 
of  skilled  workmen.  Quite  true,  but  as  you  have 


Position  19.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  117 

doubtless  surmised,  this  was  not  originally  the  final 
exterior  finish.  When  completed  the  pyramid  was 
sheathed  from  summit  to  base  in  magnificent  casing 
masonry,  so  skilfully  set  that  the  joints  were  almost 
undiscernible.  Vast  smooth  surfaces  then  greeted  the 
eye  from  base  to  summit.  Later  on  we  shall  see  a 
very  striking  demonstration  of  the  cunning  with  which 
this  work  on  the  casing  was  executed.  It  was  still  in 
place  when  the  first  Greek  visitors  beheld  the  pyramid 
and  wrote  of  it.  Occasional  references  through  classic 
times,  and  after  the  Moslem  conquest,  show  that  the 
casing  was  still  in  place  until  the  13th  century  A.  D. 
Then  all  mention  of  it  ceases  until  the  16th  century, 
when  an  Italian  traveler  refers  to  the  pyramid  in  such 
a way  as  to  show  that  the  casing  has  now  disappeared. 
It  was  removed  then  some  time  between  the  13th  and 
the  16th  century  by  the  Moslem  builders  of  Cairo, 
who  used  the  blocks  thus  gained  for  building  the 
mosques  and  tombs  and  houses  there.  You  viewed 
from  the  citadel  the  mosque  of  Sultan  Hiasan,  into 
which  some  of  them  went,  in  the  14th  century  (Page 
60).  Thus  the  beautiful  Saracen  structures  of  Cairo 
grew  up  at  the  expense  of  this  older  monument  of  the 
country.  Some  of  the  casing  blocks  in  the  lower 
courses  were  covered  up  by  the  accumulations  of 
detritus  from  above,  and  thus  escaped  the  crow-bars 
of  these  Moslem  vandals ; thus  part  of  the  lowermost 
course  is  still  in  position  in  the  centre  of  the  north  side. 
But  this  quarrying  has  cost  this  pyramid  some  30  feet 
of  its  height,  and  15  or  20  feet  in  the  length  of  its 
sides. 

Perhaps  this  loss  is  not  so  felt  by  the  tourist  as 
by  the  archaeologist,  for  the  former  finds  compensa- 
tion in  the  fact  that  he  may  now  ascend  the  pyramid. 


Position  19.  Map  5. 


118  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

which  would  have  been  quite  impossible  had  not  the 
smooth  casing  masonry  been  removed  and  the  terraced 
courses  below  revealed.  To  be  sure  they  do  not  form 
the  most  comfortable  stair-case  in  the  world,  for  as 
you  will  note  by  looking  at  the  native  nearest  us,  some 
of  them  are  nearly  shoulder  high ; but  by  dint  of  sun- 
dry pulling  in  front  and  pushing  from  behind  at  the 
hands  of  the  willing  Arabs,  we  shall  be  able  to  make 
the  ascent  with  plenty  of  stopping  to  rest,  within  a 
half  hour. 

Our  next  position  then  is  to  be  on  that  lofty  summit, 
and  from  it  we  shall  look  practically  east,  that  is,  to 
our  left,  over  the  full  width  of  the  Nile  valley.  Find 
the  red  lines  numbered  20  marking  out  the  field  of 
vision  on  Map  5,  but  especially  on  Map  4. 

Position  20.  View  from  the  summit  of  the  Ch'eat 
Pyramid,  east  over  the  valley  of  the  Nile 

At  last  we  are  here ! And  the  first  thought  is  doubt 
and  questioning.  Is  it  possible  that  we  stand  at  last 
upon  the  summit  of  the  venerable  monument  of  which 
we  have  so  long  dreamed?  But  look  out  there  upon 
this  fertile  valley,  green  and  smiling  under  the  bright- 
est of  blue  skies ; then  drop  your  eyes  upon  this  dead 
stretch  of  sand  at  our  feet.  Nowhere  but  upon  the 
summit  of  this  great  pyramid  is  there  such  a prospect 
of  the  most  prodigal  and  unlimited  wealth  of  life,  to  be 
viewed  from  the  very  heart  of  death.  Before  us,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  penetrate  and  distinguish,  there  is  this 
wide  expanse  of  fertile  bottom,  teeming  with  the  thou- 
sand elements  of  life ; while  behind  us  and  on  either 
hand  are  the  silence  and  death  of  the  desert.  What  a 
land  of  contrasts ! — contrasts  between  the  ancient  and 


Positions  19,  20.  Maps  4,  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


119 


modern  condition  of  the  nation ; contrasts  between  nat- 
ural conditions  side  by  side.  You  stand  out  there  al- 
most anywhere,  with  one  foot  in  the  desert  sands  and 
the  other  buried  in  verdure.  I have  a photograph  taken 
there,  of  a donkey  standing  with  forelegs  in  the  grass, 
and  with  hind  legs  in  the  desert. 

We  are  looking  just  a little  south  of  eastward,  di- 
rectly across  the  Nile  valley,  here  above  the  southern 
apex  of  the  Delta.  The  Delta,  therefore,  stretches 
away  northward  and  northeastward  on  our  left  (out 
of  our  range  of  vision  at  present)  till  it  meets  the  Med- 
iterranean ; and  over  on  the  horizon  line  are  the  cliffs 
which  mark  the  other  side,  the  east  side  of  the  valley. 
They  rise  to  the  Arabian  desert,  which  extends  in 
rolling  desolate  hills  to  the  Red  Sea  beyond.  Just  out 
of  range  on  our  left,  at  the  foot  of  those  distant  cliffs, 
is  Cairo  (see  the  red  lines  numbered  20  on  Map  4), 
behind  which  we  stood  and  looked  over  to  these  pyra- 
mids. Leading  to  the  city,  but  also  out  of  our  field 
at  the  moment,  is  the  road  shaded  with  its  long  double 
line  of  lebbek  trees,  along  which  we  came  out  here 
from  Cairo.  On  our  right  the  margin  of  the  desert 
winds  southward  in  a sinuous  line,  as  you  see  it  begin- 
ning just  at  our  feet  by  the  side  of  that  town,  till  it 
passes  Memphis  eleven  miles  south  of  us.  Behind  us 
the  Sahara  in  a waste  of  billowy  hills  rolls  on  to  the 
Atlantic  two  thousand  miles  away.  It  is  our  first 
clear  and  unobstructed  view  of  the  valley  from  cliff  to 
cliff,  and  you  will  find  it  profitable  to  stop  here  and 
ponder  long  and  well  our  exact  location  and  its  relation 
with  other  important  and  main  points. 

Out  there  barely  visible  upon  the  skyline  we  have 
already  noted  the  cliffs  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Nile ; 
the  river  itself  is  that  broad  white  line  just  under  the 


Position  20.  Maps  4,  5. 


120  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

horizon  coming  into  view  at  about  the  middle  of  our 
present  prospect  and  running  out  of  range  at  the  left. 
It  is  the  river  and  those  cliffs  yonder  which  made  pos- 
sible the  great  pyramid.  For  the  cliffs  furnished  a 
limestone  of  the  finest  quality  and  the  river  at  high 
water  made  its  transp>ortation  possible  to  the  very  foot 
of  the  bluff  below  us,  where  a huge  causeway  led  up 
here  to  the  pyramid,  directly  through  the  ground  where 
this  village  now  stands.  Up  the  causeway,  of  which 
large  remains  are  still  surviving,  the  stone  was  dragged 
to  the  desert  plateau.  The  village  now  built  over  the 
causeway  is  Kafr,  which  you  will  remember,  we  saw 
from  the  road  to  the  pyramids,  in  our  first  view  of 
them  (Position  16).  Later  we  shall  visit  those  dis- 
tant quarries  and  see  the  vast  halls  and  galleries,  from 
which  the  great  pyramid  was  taken. 

The  annual  inundation  which  floated  the  heavy 
barges,  laden  with  the  massive  blocks,  has,  as  you  see 
here,  fallen,  and  left  pools  and  patches  of  water  here 
and  there.  Everywhere  the  retreating  waters  have  left 
a deposit  of  rich  mud  from  the  highlands  of  Abys- 
sinia, which  in  large  measure  explains  the  marvelous 
productivity  of  these  fields.  The  rise  of  the  waters  is 
already  observable  in  June  at  the  first  cataract,  though 
not  here  in  Lower  Egypt.  By  the  first  of  August  it  is 
considerable,  but  the  increase  continues  to  the  latter 
half  of  September,  when,  after  maintaining  a constant 
level  for  twenty  or  thirty  days,  the  waters  again  rise, 
till  by  the  middle  of  October  they  have  reached  the 
maximum  level.  At  this  time,  the  whole  country  be- 
fore us  may  be  flooded ; for  example,  in  the  autumn  of 
1894,  I saw  this  district,  especially  looking  northward 
and  northeastward  from  our  present  station,  so  flooded 
that  it  looked  like  a vast  inland  sea.  Its  glistening  sur- 


Position  20.  Maps  4,  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  121 

face  was  flecked  here  and  there  with  palm  groves, 
marking  the  villages ; but  these,  like  Kum  el-Aswad 
yonder,  although  surrounded  by  water,  are  upon  higher 
ground.  Ordinarily  they  are  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
water,  but  in  1891,  thousands  of  natives  were  driven 
from  their  homes  by  the  flood  and  forced  to  seek  refuge 
on  the  neighboring  highlands,  till  the  subsidence  began. 
This  is  already  in  full  course  by  December;  the  fields 
now  gradually  dry  up,  as  you  see  them  doing  at  our 
feet,  the  pools  disappear  and  the  peasant  is  dependent 
for  irrigation  upon  the  waters  stored  in  reservoirs  kept 
in  repair  for  the  purpose,  and  the  vast  network  of 
canals,  which  ramify  throughout  the  country,  like  a 
life-giving  arterial  system.  The  government  super- 
vision of  this  system  is  necessarily  close  and  effective, 
as  it  was  in  ancient  Egypt.  At  the  second  cataract 
are  rock  inscriptions  of  the  12th  Dynasty  (19th  century 
B.  C.),  marking  the  maximum  height  of  the  flood,  in 
order  that  comparison  might  be  made  from  year  to 
year  and  the  water  properly  distributed  and  used.  At 
present  the  vertical  rise  of  the  waters  from  lowest  to 
highest  is  usually  about  49  feet  at  the  first  cataract, 
at  Thebes  it  is  38  feet,  while  here  at  Cairo  it  is  about 
25  feet  and  in  the  Delta  still  less. 

The  husbanding  of  these  waters  began  in  prehistoric 
times ; and  by  2000  B.  C.  vast  government  works  were 
constructed  for  storing  them  for  future  use,  as  we  shall 
see  when  we  have  visited  the  Fayum.  In  modern  times, 
after  much  mediaeval  neglect  by  the  Moslems,  a huge 
dam  has  been  built  at  the  southern  apex  of  the  Delta, 
usually  known  as  the  “barrage.”  The  English  have  re- 
cently built  another  at  Assiut,  and  still  another  at  the 
first  cataract,  the  last  being  the  largest  dam  in  the 
world.  Indeed  the  English  are  at  present  developing 


Position  20.  Maps  4,  5. 


122  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

these  resources  of  the  Nile  inundation  with  unprece- 
dented success,  though  not  without  disregard  of  the 
nation’s  inheritance  in  its  ancient  monuments,  as  we 
shall  see,  when  we  have  reached  Philae.  But  when  we 
remember  that  the  only  rain  which  the  country  can  re- 
ceive is  from  those  rare  cyclonic  storms,  which  force 
rain-bearing  clouds  from  the  Mediterranean  southeast- 
ward across  the  Sahara  into  the  Nile  valley,  we  shall 
understand  the  necessity  for  utilizing  the  life-giving 
Nile  to  the  utmost.  I have  met  children  in  Upper 
Egypt,  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  have  never  seen  a 
heavy  rain ; at  the  same  time,  slight  showers  have 
been  known  to  fall  at  Thebes,  several  years  in  succes- 
sion, and  Petrie’s  mud-brick  excavators’  quarters  were 
one  season  almost  washed  down  by  a forty-eight-hour 
rain.  When  we  have  begun  our  trip  up  the  river,  we 
shall  see  how  the  natives  employ  the  waters,  which  are 
thus  husbanded  for  them  by  the  government. 

Let  us  now  turn  about,  toward  our  right,  nearly  if 
not  quite  one-third  of  a complete  circle.  This  present 
prospect  will  then  be  behind  us  and  on  our  left;  while 
the  second  pyramid,  now  behind  us  on  our  right,  will 
be  directly  before  us.  Find  the  red  lines  numbered  21 
on  Map  5. 


Position  21.  The  Second  Pyramid  with  its  crown 
of  original  casing  masonry,  southwest  from 
the  summit  of  the  Great  Pyramid 

We  stand  looking  southwestward  toward  the  heart 
of  Africa,  with  Cairo  almost  behind  us  and  Memphis 
on  our  left.  Before  us  looms  the  second  pyramid,  com- 
pletely hiding  the  third  and  smallest,  which  lies  behind 
it.  This  is  probably  not  the  best  point  of  view  from 


Positions  20,  2t.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


123 


which  to  be  impressed  with  its  size,  and  yet  when  you 
remember  that  yonder  cap  of  casing  masonry  which 
still  crowns  it,  extends  for  150  feet  down  its  sides,  this 
may  serve  as  a scale  by  which  to  measure  the  rest ; but 
lifted  as  we  are  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  great  pyra- 
mid, we  are  taking  an  unfair  advantage  in  thus  look- 
ing down  upon  its  slightly  smaller  neighbor.  But  how 
splendidly  it  rises  against  that  background  of  billowy 
desert,  which  stretches  away  southward. 

Here,  and  a little  to  the  east  (left)  of  our  present 
range  of  vision,  is  the  northern  extremity  of  a line  of 
pyramids  distributed  in  groups  extending  some  sixty 
miles  in  length,  from  the  pyramid  of  Illahun  in  the 
south,  to  the  ruinous  group  of  Abu  Roash  just  be- 
hind us  here  on  the  north  of  the  Gizeh  group.  This 
sixty-mile  line  of  pyramids  represents  a line  of  Pha- 
raohs, who  reigned  over  a thousand  years.  We  shall 
view  the  southern  end  of  this  line  later  on,  and  stand 
as  it  were,  at  the  other  end  of  that  thousand  years 
(Position  34)  ; for,  speaking  roughly,  it  begins  at  the 
north,  proceeds  southward  and  ends  at  the  southern 
termination  of  the  line. 

Peeping  out  from  behind  the  second  pyramid  you  see 
one  of  those  small  ones,  which  stand  at  the  base  of  the 
third  pyramid  (see  Map  5).  Further  east  (left),  but 
nearer  to  us,  you  observe  three  low  sand-covered 
walls,  two  extending  eastward,  and  one  at  right  angles 
to  these.  The  nearer  of  the  two  parallel  walls  is  part 
of  the  enclosure  wall  surrounding  the  second  pyramid ; 
that  at  right  angles  to  it,  is  part  of  a similar  wall  en- 
closing the  third  pyramid ; while  the  further  of  the 
two  parallel  walls  is  really  not  a wall  at  all,  but 
the  upper  end  of  the  causeway  leading  from  the 
plain  to  the  desert  plateau  and  the  third  pyra- 


Posltlon  21.  Map  5. 


124  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

mid,  up  which  the  material  for  it  was  trans- 
ported, and  by  means  of  which,  after  the  king’s  death, 
access  was  gained  to  the  temple  of  the  pyramid,  where 
his  mortuary  ritual  was  regularly  carried  on  by  an  en- 
dowed priesthood.  Do  you  remember  the  mastaba 
tombs  which  we  saw  down  yonder  near  the  base  of 
this  pyramid  on  which  we  stand?  Do  you  recollect 
that  we  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  these  mastaba 
tombs  have  on  the  east  side  a chapel  chamber  where 
the  deceased  lived,  ate,  drank  and  was  clothed? 

Follow  that  causeway  out  there  (what  we  called  the 
further  parallel  wall)  westward  (to  the  right),  and  as 
your  eye  approaches  the  second  pyramid,  you  notice 
just  on  this  side  of  the  tiny  pyramid,  a small  heap  of 
ruins.  Those  ruins  are  all  that  remains  of  the  chapel 
belonging  to  the  third  pyramid,  now  just  out  of  range 
behind  the  second.  Like  the  chapel  of  the  mastaba, 
it  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  pyramid  to  which  it  be- 
longs, but  as  the  king  naturally  demands  a more  pre- 
tentious chapel  than  that  of  his  nobles,  it  becomes  a 
temple,  detached  from  the  pyramid.  You  will  see  this 
still  more  clearly  if  you  look  at  the  ruins  here  at  the 
extreme  left,  more  at  our  feet,  over  this  standing 
native’s  head.  These  are  the  remains  of  the  temple  of 
the  second  pyramid,  and  it  stands,  as  you  see,  on  the 
east  front  of  the  pyramid  (see  Map  5).  There  in  that 
desolate  sand-covered  ruin,  once  a splendid  sanctuary, 
an  endowed  priesthood  carried  on  the  ritual  and  wor- 
ship of  the  dead  Khafre,  who  lay  in  the  pyramid ; and 
there  from  the  foundations  established  by  the  king 
for  the  purpose,  he  daily  received  the  offerings  of  food 
and  drink,  which  were  to  maintain  him  in  the  here- 
after. Two  thousand  years  after  these  kings  of  the 
Old  Kingdom  have  passed  away,  we  still  find  priests 


Position  21.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


125 


of  their  cult,  though  the  fortunes  of  their  temples  had 
by  that  time  fallen  very  low. 

The  pyramid  before  us  lacked  nine  feet  of  being  as 
high  as  that  one  on  which  we  stand ; it  was  472  feet 
high,  but  as  it  has  lost  but  a trifle  at  its  summit,  while 
the  first  pyramid  has  lost  thirty  feet,  and  as  it  also 
stands  upon  higher  ground,  we  look  up  to  its  peak  even 
from  the  top  of  the  great  pyramid.  The  length  of  each 
side  is  706  feet,  yet  despite  its  vast  mass,  when  Belzoni 
opened  it  on  March  2nd,  1818,  he  found  that  it  had  been 
robbed  in  antiquity  and  the  body  had  disappeared. 
The  futility  of  all  this  enormous  expense  of  human 
labor  and  of  human  skill  in  the  vain  attempt  to  pre- 
serve the  body  and  thus  secure  immortality  for  the 
spirit,  is  as  depressing  as  that  illimitable  sweep  of  bar- 
ren desert,  that  stretches  away  from  the  pyramid  at 
our  feet  till  it  is  lost  on  the  distant  horizon.  It  forms 
a fitting  background  for  the  silent  pyramid  in  which 
both  the  body  and  the  hope  of  Khafre  were  entombed. 

We  must  now  turn  to  the  right  and  from  the  same 
point  where  we  now  stand  look  down  the  southwest 
corner  of  this  pyramid  to  the  summit  of  which  we  have 
climbed.  On  Map  5 the  red  lines  numbered  22  show 
what  our  field  of  vision  will  be. 


Position  22.  Looking  down  the  southivest  cormer 
of  the  Ch'eat  Pyramid  npon  the  niastabas  of 
Khufu’s  lords 

We  are  now  looking  down  the  corner  diagonally  op- 
posite the  corner  up  which  we  looked  before  we  as- 
cended the  pyramid.  We  are  not  here  so  impressed 
with  the  size  of  the  pyramid  as  when  we  looked  up, 
for  the  reason  that  the  converging  lines  which  in  per- 


Positionf  21,  22.  Map  5. 


126  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

spective  produce  the  effect  of  distance,  are  here  in- 
verted as  the  great  mass  of  the  pyramid  swells  out  be- 
neath us.  And  yet  if  you  will  (lowering  the  instru- 
ment until  you  are  looking  toward  the  floor)  let  your 
eyes  run  down  the  precipitous  sides  nearly  500  feet  to 
the  desert  below  you  will  be  ready  to  shrink  back,  I 
doubt  not,  at  the  suggestion  of  falling.  One  shudders 
at  the  thought  of  that  white-robed  native  plunging  from 
his  dizzy  height  over  the  stone  beneath.  How  insig- 
nificant that  camel  looks  far  down  there  on  the  sand. 

However,  we  are  looking  down  here  chiefly  to  observe 
those  mastabas  on  the  right.  Do  you  see  how  the 
central  core  of  sand  and  rubble  is  held  in  place  by 
the  retaining  wall  of  surrounding  masonry?  Does  it 
occur  to  you  that  there  was  a time  when  that  retaining 
wall  was  just  a rude  circle  of  unhewn  boulders,  gathered 
by  primitive  man  around  the  sand-heap  that  marked 
the  resting-place  of  his  departed  ancestor,  to  pro- 
tect it  from  the  drifting  winds  ? Such  it  certainly  once 
was,  and  you  may  see  many  a sand-heap  on  the  margin 
of  the  desert  here,  marking  the  grave  of  the  peasant  of 
yesterday,  with  just  a rude  oval  of  hastily  gathered 
stones  about  it,  lest  it  should  vanish  in  the  drifting 
sands.  Now,  as  the  mastaba  has  grown  out  of  the 
sand-heap,  so  the  pyramid  has  grown  out  of  the  mas- 
taba, by  placing  one  mastaba  upon  another  and  thus 
building  a terraced  pile  diminishing  as  it  rose,  each 
mastaba  being  smaller  than  the  one  beneath  it.  Finally, 
in  course  of  time,  these  terraced  sides  were  filled  out 
in  one  plane  slope  and  thus  at  last  the  pyramid  form 
was  attained.  When  we  go  to  Sakkara  we  shall  see 
one  of  the  terraced  structures  (Position  29),  which 
form  the  transitional  stage  between  the  mastaba  and 
the  pyramid. 


Position  22.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


127 


Since  we  first  saw  this  pyramid  we  have  once  paused 
to  think  of  all  the  long  course  of  man’s  career  that 
lies  between  us  and  its  builders — but  have  we  stopped 
to  think  of  the  long  and  marvelous  development  that 
lies  behind  the  era  of  the  pyramids?  Remote  as  is 
this  hoary  monument,  we  may  look  behind  it,  down 
a still  remoter  vista  of  man’s  past  development:  at  its 
hither  end  is  the  pyramid  upon  which  we  stand,  then 
the  massive  mastaba  down  there,  out  of  which  the 
pyramid  grew ; and  yet  back  of  this,  in  the  dim  ages 
of  the  forgotten  world,  is  the  sand-heap  grave.  Here, 
the  pyramid,  the  most  tremendous  feat  of  engineering 
achieved  by  ancient  man ; and  yonder  as  its  lineal 
ancestor,  the  lowly  sand-heap  that  covers  the  body  of 
the  peasant  plowman.  This  is  evolution  as  the  archae- 
ologist sees  it — not  merely  the  law  of  the  development 
of  physiological  forms,  but  also  of  human  arts  and 
human  institutions.  For  what  an  evolution  is  here! 
Not  alone  in  the  mechanical  arts,  which,  beginning 
with  the  sand-heap,  have  finally  achieved  the  pyramid ; 
but  also  in  the  organization  of  society  and  of  govern- 
ment, which,  developing  in  the  thousand  years  that 
lie  between  the  sand-heap  and  the  pyramid,  have  gradu- 
ally passed  from  the  feeble  initiative  of  the  individ- 
ual to  that  of  a highly  organized  state,  so  efficient  that 
it  is  able  to  concentrate  all  its  vast  resources  of  wealth, 
of  labor  and  of  skill  up>on  one  supreme  achievement, 
never  later  to  be  surpassed.  Thus  a whole  stage  of 
human  progress  lies  behind  this  pyramid,  and  is  to  be 
traced  in  the  monuments  which  are  visible  from  its 
summit. 

But  we  shall  not  have  learned  all  that  this  monu- 
ment has  to  tell  us,  till  we  have  entered  it,  and 


Position  22.  Map  5. 


128  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

we  must  now  descend  for  that  purpose.  The  entrance 
to  which  we  now  go  was  seen,  you  remember,  in  the 
north  side  from  our  Position  18.  The  standpoint  we 
are  about  to  take  before  that  entrance  is  given  on  Map 
5 by  the  red  lines  numbered  23. 

Position  23.  The  entrance  to  the  Great  Pyramid, 
the  sepulcher  of  Khufu  (in  north  face),  seen 
from  below 

Mounted  upon  the  accumulated  debris  in  the  middle 
of  the  north  face  of  the  great  pyramid,  we  are  look- 
ing up  at  the  opening.  Is  it  possible,  you  are  asking, 
that  the  Pharaohs  thus  advertised  the  entrances  to  their 
tombs  and  invited  the  tomb  robber  in  this  way  to  the 
place  where  he  might  gain  access  to  the  treasures  of 
the  interior?  The  recollection  of  the  now  vanished 
casing  will  immediately  answer  this  question.  What 
we  see  here  is  but  the  wreck  of  the  ancient  opening, 
which,  piercing  the  casing  just  fifty-five  feet  and  seven 
inches  above  the  pavement,  was  so  cunningly  closed  by 
a single  flat  slab  of  stone  let  into  the  surface,  that  it  was 
invisible  from  below.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that  it  was 
not  in  the  middle  of  this  face  of  the  pyramid,  but 
twenty-four  feet  east  of  the  middle,  and  we  shall  under- 
stand how  baffling  it  must  have  been  for  the  tomb  rob- 
bers. Nevertheless,  they  somehow  gained  a knowledge 
of  it,  and  the  entrance  was  known  in  the  time  of  Christ. 
In  any  case,  Strabo  speaks  of  a movable  stone,  which 
closed  the  entrance  to  the  pyramid.  This  shows  that 
it  had  already  been  robbed  in  antiquity,  but  it  was 
later  closed  again  and  all  knowledge  of  the  entrance 
lost. 

That  movable  stone  gave  access  to  a descending 
passage  only  three  and  a half  feet  wide  by  four 


Position  23.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


129 


feet  high,  and  protected  from  the  enormous  pressure 
from  above  by  a superimposed  peak  of  huge  blocks  of 
limestone,  which  you  see  in  the  rough  opening  above 
us.  This  passage  points  to  the  pole-star,  and  descend- 
ing, rapidly  passes  out  of  the  superstructure  of  ma- 
sonry into  the  native  rock  beneath,  upon  which  the 
pyramid  rests,  and  after  345  feet  terminates  in  a “sub- 


terranean  chamber”  hewn  out  of  the  rocks  below  the 
pyramid  (see  above  Plan).  In  the  ceiling  of  this 
descending  passage,  ninety-two  feet  from  the  entrance, 
there  begins  an  ascending  passage,  the  lower  end  of 
which  is  cunningly  closed  by  seventeen  feet  of  plug 
blocks  of  granite.  After  122  feet  this  ascending  passage 


Position  23.  Map  5. 


130 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


branches  into  two;  one  horizontal,  leading  to  a cham- 
ber of  limestone  in  the  axis  of  the  pyramid ; the  other 
still  continuing  to  ascend,  but  expanding  into  a splendid 
hall,  at  the  upper  end  of  which,  behind  an  ante-cham- 
ber, is  the  chamber  in  which  the  king  was  buried. 

We  shall  presently  stand  at  the  upper  end  of  this 
hall  and  look  down,  but  before  doing  so,  notice  that 
dark  hole  in  the  masonry,  partly  stopped  up  with 
stones,  on  our  extreme  right.  That  hole  is  one  of  the 
best  witnesses  we  possess  to  the  skill  with  which  the 
entrance  here  was  closed,  for  the  caliph  el-Mamun 
(813  to  833  A.  D.),  the  son  of  the  famous  Harun  er- 
Rashid,  whom  we  all  know  in  the  Arabian  Nights, 
forced  an  entrance  into  the  pyramid  for  the  sake  of  the 
treasure,  which  it  was  supposed  to  contain ; and  this 
hole  is  his  forced  passage.  As  might  have  been  sup- 
posed, his  workmen  attacked  the  middle  of  this  side, 
and  they  toiled  for  months,  with  the  entrance  passage 
just  above  their  heads  and  a little  to  the  east,  till  the 
sound  of  falling  stones  within  the  pyramid,  led  them 
toward  the  sound  and  they  emerged  upon  the  descend- 
ing passage.  But  as  the  pyramid  had  been  robbed  they 
found  nothing  but  the  king’s  sarcophagus  in  the  upper 
chamber,  and  to  appease  his  disappointed  followers 
the  caliph  was  obliged  to  place  some  of  his  own  treas- 
ure there,  that  they  might  find  it  and  be  satisfied. 

We  are  now  to  take  our  position  at  the  top  of  the 
“Great  Hall”  (see  plan) , and  look  down  its  entire  length. 

Position  24:.  Looking  down  the  main  passage 
leading  to  JKhufii’s  sepulcher  within  the  Great 
Pyramid 

What  a gloomy,  forbidding  place!  The  bats  flit- 
ting silently  hither  and  thither  whisk  into  our  faces 


Positions  23,  24.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  131 

draughts  of  the  stifling  air,  superheated  by  the  suns  of 
five  thousand  years,  which  have  shone  upon  the  pyra- 
mid until  it  glows  like  a furnace.  It  is  intolerable,  and 
the  perspiration  pours  down  our  faces  as  we  rest  after 
the  ascent.  We  are  at  the  top  of  the  grand  hall  and 
are  looking  down  its  slippery  slope,  congratulating 
ourselves  that  we  have  reached  the  level  at  the  top ; 
for  without  the  ready  assistance  of  the  Arabs,  the  as- 
cent of  the  hall  is  none  too  easy,  and  the  cumulative 
velocity  of  a slide  down  that  long,  steep  floor  is  no 
light  matter  when  one  reaches  the  bottom.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty-seven  feet  long  and  twenty-eight  feet 
high  is  this  wonderful  hall,  and  the  four  natives  with 
candles  stationed  along  the  descent  may  indicate  its 
vast  extent,  as  the  last  candle  at  the  lower  end  glim- 
mers in  the  distance.  But  it  is  very  narrow  in  propor- 
tion to  its  length,  for  the  side  walls  are  only  four  cubits 
apart,  that  is,  less  than  seven  feet.  The  ramps  on 
either  side,  upon  which  our  natives  are  sitting,  are 
each  a cubit  thick,  leaving  the  width  of  the  floor  only 
two  cubits,  less  than  three  and  a half  feet. 

Overhead,  beginning  with  the  third  course  above  the 
ramps,  the  courses  project,  each  beyond  the  next  lower 
one,  for  seven  courses  to  the  roof,  lost  in  the  gloom 
above.  The  projection  of  each  of  the  seven  courses  is 
just  a palm,  so  that  the  total  projection  of  seven  palms 
is  exactly  a cubit  from  either  side.  This  makes  the  dis- 
tance between  the  side  walls  at  the  roof  two  cubits ; 
that  is,  the  roof,  like  the  floor  between  the  ramps,  is 
just  two  cubits  wide,  a little  over  forty-one  inches. 
This  gradual  narrowing  toward  the  roof  is,  of  course, 
for  safety,  as  the  roof  must  support  the  enormous 
weight  of  the  masonry  above.  Some  of  the  blocks  of 
the  side  walls  are  not  accurately  dressed  on  the  exposed 


Position  24.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


132  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

surface,  but  if  you  will  closely  examine  the  joints  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  courses  above  the  ramps, 
you  will  see  that  the  surfaces  now  in  contact  are  set 
together  so  skilfully  that  the  seam  can  only  with  diffi- 
culty be  discovered.  Indeed  there  are  twenty  ton 
blocks  in  this  pyramid  which  are  set  together  with  a 
contact  of  one  five-hundredth  of  an  inch,  an  accuracy 
which  not  only  surpasses  the  modern  mason’s  straight 
edge,  says  Petrie,  but  quite  equals  that  of  the  modern 
manufacturing  optician.  How  many  centuries  of  de- 
velopment must  have  been  required  to  attain  the  skill 
to  do  work  on  such  a grand  scale,  and  at  the  same  time 
with  such  exquisite  nicety ! 

Up  this  superb  hall  the  body  of  the  king  was  borne 
on  the  day  of  burial,  and  those  cuttings  in  the  side 
walls  just  above  the  ramps,  were  probably  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  timbers  intended  to  facilitate  the  ascent. 
The  chamber  behind  us  in  which  the  body  was  to  rest 
is  not  less  remarkable  than  the  grand  hall  down  which 
we  look,  and  there  we  are  now  permitted  to  take  up  our 
station.  See  the  “King’s  Chamber”  in  the  plan  on 
page  129. 


Position  25.  Khufu’s  sarcojihagiis,  broken  by 
robbers,  in  the  sepulcher-chamber  of  the  Great 
Pyramid 

Deep  in  the  heart  of  the  great  pyramid ! And  before 
us  is  the  sarcophagus  in  which  the  king  was  entombed. 
See  how  the  tomb  robbers  have  broken  away  the  cor- 
ner in  their  mad  search  for  treasure.  There  his  body 
was  torn  from  its  resting-place  and  plundered  of  its 
rich  regalia  and  splendid  jewelry,  such  as  we  have  seen 
in  the  Cairo  Museum,  and  then  left  in  dishonor  and 


Positions  24,  25.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  133 

confusion  among  fragments  of  stone  and  tattered 
mummy  cloth  lying  upon  the  floor.  At  least  so  the 
mummy  of  King  Mernere  was  found  in  his  pyramid 
chamber  at  Sakkara  in  1881,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  robbers  treated  the  body  of  Khufu 
any  differently.  But  this  great  pyramid  was  often  vis- 
ited, and  was  the  subject  of  a similar  thieving  attempt 
under  el-Mamun,  as  we  have  seen ; so  that  the  re- 
mains of  his  body,  those  royal  limbs,  that  once  sat 
upon  the  throne  of  the  Pharaohs,  wielding  a power  un- 
known before  in  the  antique  world,  were  scattered  like 
rubbish  of  the  street  and  gradually  lost.  Does  not 
Brugsch  tell  how  he  carried  the  body  of  Mernere  from 
the  Sakkara  pyramid  to  Cairo  on  a donkey,  and  after 
this  treatment  had  resulted  in  breaking  the  desiccated 
body  into  two  parts,  he  took  one  of  them  under  his 
arm,  while  his  companion  seized  the  other  in  the  same 
way,  and  thus  they  walked  into  Cairo,  bearing  the  mor- 
tal remains  of  a great  king!  If  the  body  of  a Pharaoh 
could  be  thus  treated  by  an  Egyptologist,  who  had 
every  reason  to  pay  it  honor  and  respect,  what  may  we 
not  expect  from  ancient  tomb  plunderers ! 

We  stand  in  the  presence  of  most  graphic  evidences 
of  the  futility  of  the  great  pyramid  and  of  all  the  hopes 
which  inspired  its  construction.  And  yet  what  labor 
and  wealth  and  skill  went  into  it ! Look  around  you 
here.  We  have  stepped  out  of  the  upper  end  of  the 
great  hall,  down  which  we  have  been  looking,  through 
a small  ante-chamber,  once  blocked  by  four  portcullises 
of  granite,  through  which  the  tomb  robbers  were 
obliged  to  force  their  way;  and  reaching  this  burial- 
chamber,  usually  called  the  “king’s  chamber,”  we  have 
turned  to  the  right  (northward)  and  are  looking  west. 


Position  25.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


134  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

and  slightly  north,  with  the  west  wall  of  the  chamber 
before  us.  The  whole  chamber  is  of  granite,  17  by  34 
feet,  and  19  feet  high.  The  great  hall  through  which 
we  came  and  all  the  masonry  we  have  thus  far  exam- 
ined, are  of  limestone  like  the  core  and  casing  of  the 
pyramid ; but  for  this,  the  final  chamber  where  the 
king’s  body  was  to  lie,  granite  from  the  far  cataract 
was  chosen. 

Measure  with  your  eye  the  huge  granite  blocks, 
as  the  white  raiment  of  these  two  natives  is  outlined 
against  them ; and  note  the  enormous  slabs  that  form 
the  floor.  Over  our  heads  are  two  hundred  and  fifty 
vertical  feet  of  masonry  threatening  to  crush  in  the 
roof.  The  great  granite  beams  that  form  the  roof  above 
us  are  about  twenty-seven  feet  long,  four  feet  thick 
and  some  six  feet  high,  as  they  lie  on  edge,  and  they 
weigh  from  fifty-two  to  fifty-four  tons  each.  Yet  an 
earthquake  has  so  wrenched  the  masonry  that  every 
one  of  these  beams,  nine  in  number,  is  now  broken 
short  across,  from  one  end  of  the  chamber  to  the  other  ; 
but  the  biting  grip  of  the  enormous  weight  above  still 
holds  them  in  place.  In  1763,  Mr.  Davison,  the  Brit- 
ish consul  at  Algiers,  while  examining  the  uppermost 
corner  of  the  great  hall  outside,  discovered  a passage 
leading  from  that  hall  to  a rough  chamber  over  this, 
where  we  now  stand.  It  was  very  low  and  was  roofed 
with  granite  beams  like  those  of  the  roof  above  us. 
Col.  Howard  Vyse,  while  at  work  on  the  pyramid  in 
1839,  was  led  to  believe  that  there  were  similar  cham- 
bers above  that  of  Davison,  and  after  hewing  a passage 
upward  from  Davison’s  chamber  he  found  no  less  than 
four  more,  making  in  all  five  of  these  chambers  over 
us.  It  is  evident  that  they  are  construction  chambers. 


Position  25.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  135 

having  no  other  function  than  to  render  the  roof  of  the 
burial  chamber  safer  by  relieving  it  of  some  of  the  vast 
weight  from  above.  The  fifth  or  uppermost  of  them 
may  be  called  a great  success  in  this  respect.  It  con- 
sists of  a massive  peak,  like  that  over  the  entrance 
passage  which  we  saw  from  the  outside,  built  of  lime- 
stone blocks,  which  receive  and  by  their  sideward 
thrust  transfer  from  the  roof  to  the  side  walls,  the 
colossal  weight  to  be  borne.  Petrie,  however,  thinks 
that  there  is  no  thrust,  but  that  these  great  limestone 
beams  extend  far  down  into  the  masonry  on  each  side 
of  the  chamber,  and  thus  anchored  in  the  masonry  they 
cannot  give  way  at  the  peak,  but  resist  like  cantilevers. 
In  any  case,  it  will  be  seen  how  effective  the  crown- 
ing device  is  in  thus  supporting  that  solid  mass  above 
it  of  some  250  feet  in  height,  so  that  the  roof  of  the 
chamber,  shattered  as  it  is,  has  not  fallen  in,  bringing 
down  the  whole  complex  above.  But  Petrie  thinks  that 
the  time  is  coming  when  the  roof  beams  at  least  must 
give  way,  and  the  chamber  will  then  cave  in  over  our 
heads. 

And  now  we  must  leave  the  interior  of  this  stupen- 
dous monument.  Can  you  imagine  the  fateful  day, 
when  passing  up  the  great  hall,  with  flaming  torches 
the  funeral  cortege  entered  this  granite  chamber,  and 
bearing  the  mighty  king  in  his  cedar  coffin,  they  laid 
him  in  the  granite  sarcophagus  at  our  feet,  and  her- 
metically fastened  on  with  molten  metal  the  massive 
granite  lid?  All  about  them,  as  about  us  now,  were 
hundreds  of  feet  of  solid  masonry;  in  no  direction  can 
we  reach  the  bright  Egyptian  sunshine,  without  pass- 
ing through  several  hundred  feet  of  solid  blocks.  As 
they  go  out  through  this  ante-chamber  behind  us,  they 


Position  25.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


136  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

let  down  four  huge  portcullises  of  granite,  to  shut  in 
forever  from  all  violation  the  sacred  dead.  Down 
through  the  great  hall  they  go,  into  the  descending 
passage  below  it,  at  whose  lower  end,  the  workmen 
drop  into  the  yawning  opening,  block  after  block  of 
granite,  filling  the  lower  end  of  the  passage  for 
seventeen  feet ; and  having  thus  shut  themselves  in, 
they  escape  through  a secret  well  cut  for  the  purpose 
in  the  masonry  after  it  was  laid.  Then  ascending  to 
the  entrance  where  the  daylight  appears,  the  cunningly 
fitted  block,  which  is  to  hide  all  appearance  of  an  open- 
ing is  dropped  into  its  place  and  the  great  Khufu  is 
left  to  his  eternal  rest. 

It  is  to-day  nearly  five  thousand  years  since  these 
walls  reverberated  to  the  fall  of  the  last  block  into 
its  place;  the  whole  history  of  the  world  has  been  en- 
acted since  that  sound  died  away  among  these  stones, 
and  here  we  stand  at  the  empty  sarcophagus  of  King 
Khufu.  As  far  as  preserving  the  soul  of  the  great 
king  is  concerned,  all  the  wealth  and  power  of  a 
kingdom  spent  in  putting  his  body  into  this  eternal 
husk  of  masonry,  have  been  in  vain.  But  all  uncon- 
sciously, by  constructing  this  monument  he  brought 
forward  a long  stage  upon  their  way,  the  developing 
arts,  which  were  called  in  to  aid  in  the  creation  of  an 
indestructible  mausoleum  for  his  body;  and  for  what 
Khufu  thus  accomplished  we  should  remember  him, 
not  only  in  wonder,  but  also  in  gratitude. 

Descending  the  grand  gallery,  we  shall  now  take  a 
position  to  the  southeast  of  the  Great  Pyramid  by  the 
side  of  the  so-called  Granite  Temple.  On  Map  5 find 
the  red  lines  numbered  26,  which  show  that  we  shall 
be  looking  northwest. 


Position  25.  Plan  of  Pyramid  Interior,  p.  129. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


137 


Position  26.  Ruins  of  the  Granite  Temjtle  hy  the 
Sphinx,  with  the  Great  Pyramid  of  Gizeh  on 
the  northwest 

As  we  stand  here  looking  northwestward  across  the 
granite  structure  by  the  Sphinx,  we  have  Memphis  be- 
hind us  and  Cairo  on  our  right.  If  you  will  examine 
our  former  point  of  view  in  this  locality  (Position  17), 
you  will  see  that  we  have  here  merely  stepped  to  the 
right  and  ascended  the  ridge  of  sand,  which  was  there 
in  our  front;  thus  bringing  into  view  this  granite 
building  which  lies  too  deeply  embedded  in  the  sands 
to  be  seen  from  below.  The  exterior  has  never  been 
excavated,  but  the  interior  has  been  almost  wholly 
cleared  of  the  encumbering  sand.  It  is  about  140  feet 
square  and  some  forty  feet  high.  The  rough  wall 
which  you  notice  on  the  further  side  is  but  the  core  of 
a wall  once  splendidly  cased  with  granite.  It  has  been 
supplemented  at  this  corner  by  this  rude  rubble  wall 
built  by  the  Service  des  Antiquites  to  keep  out  maraud- 
ing native  intruders.  The  ancient  wall  once  sur- 
rounded a court  open  to  the  sky,  which  it  enclosed  like 
a parapet.  The  pavement  of  this  court  formed  the 
roof  of  the  series  of  chambers  below,  these  chambers 
having  been  lighted  by  slits  cut  obliquely  through  the 
floor  of  the  court.  You  may  see  the  remains  of  these 
slits  on  the  upper  edge  of  the  side  wall  of  the  central 
hall,  just  to  the  left  of  the  native,  who  stands  on  the 
modern  wall  directly  in  front  of  the  camel  close  to  us. 

These  lower  halls  are  still  largely  intact.  They  form 
a large  T,  the  perpendicular  of  which  lies  pointing 
westward  toward  the  second  pyramid,  out  of  range  on 
the  left.  We  are  looking  obliquely  across  this  perpen- 
dicular as  it  emerges  on  the  left  of  the  native  in  the 
long  black  robe,  to  whom  we  have  referred.  It  is  in 


Position  26.  Map  5. 


138  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  further  wall  of  this  hall  that  the  lighting  slits  may 
be  seen.  In  the  corner  diagonally  opposite  us  is  a de- 
scending entrance  passage,  of  which  we  may  see  the 
upper  edges  of  the  side  walls.  Directly  under  the 
camel  on  the  further  wall  is  a door  piercing  that  wall ; 
it  terminates  a winding  stairway,  which  rises  from  the 
descending  entrance  passage  and  formed  the  connec- 
tion between  the  lower  halls  and  the  court  above.  The 
top  of  the  door  leading  to  the  lower  end  of  this  stair- 
way, may  be  seen  near  the  upper  end  of  the  descend- 
ing entrance  passage,  just  on  the  left  of  our  black- 
robed  native’s  white  cap.  The  roof  of  these  walls, 
which,  as  we  have  said,  was  likewise  the  floor  of  the 
court,  was  supported  on  magniflcent  granite  pillars, 
each  hewn  in  one  block.  Those  in  the  stem  of  the  T, 
ten  in  number,  are  forty-one  inches  square  and  weigh 
thirteen  tons  each.  Directly  over  the  hollow  of  the 
camel’s  neck,  just  before  us,  is  a smaller  hall,  paral- 
lel with  the  head  of  the  T,  and  here,  Mariette,  who 
discovered  the  building  in  1853,  found  a well,  from 
which  he  took  no  less  than  seven  portrait  statues  of 
Khafre,  the  builder  of  the  second  pyramid.  One  of 
these  statues  we  have  already  seen,  during  our  visit 
at  the  museum  in  Cairo. 

The  presence  of  these  statues  and  the  fact  that 
yonder  descending  entrance  passage  is  built  in 
obliquely  so  as  to  point  directly  up  the  causeway 
leading  to  the  temple,  which  we  have  already  seen 
on  the  east  side  of  Khafre’s  pyramid  (Position  21), 
would  indicate  that  this  building  here  was  erected 
by  him,  and  that  it  therefore  belongs  to  the  same 
period  as  the  pyramids.  Indeed,  it  is  thus  clear  that 
the  building  begins  the  causeway  leading  up  from  the 
plain  on  our  right  to  the  second  pyramid,  now  out  of 


Position  26.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


139 


range  on  our  left.  The  recent  discovery  of  a similar 
structure  at  Abusir,  south  of  our  present  station, 
further  demonstrates,  that  the  building  before  us  is 
the  massive  monumental  gateway,  forming  the  entrance 
to  the  masonry  causeway,  leading  up  to  the  pyramid- 
temple,  on  the  east  front  of  the  second  pyramid.  We 
have  retained  the  term  “temple”  in  the  above  title,  only 
to  avoid  misleading  those  numerous  travelers  who  only 
know  the  building  as  a temple,  which  it  has  so  long 
been  supposed  to  be.  Up  through  this  monumental 
portal  passed  the  white-robed  processions  in  the  de- 
parted Pharaoh’s  honor,  to  ascend  the  long  causeway 
beyond  leading  to  the  court  of  the  pyramid  temple, 
where  the  periodic  feasts  of  the  temple-calendar  were 
celebrated.  Many  a problem  which  now  vexes  the 
student  of  this  remote  age,  would  be  solved,  if  we 
could  have  stood  on  the  now  vanished  floor  of  the 
roof-court  which  crowned  this  great  gateway,  and 
looked  down  upon  such  a celebration.  It  is  a structure 
worthy  of  the  builder  of  such  a pyramid,  and  its  walls 
and  floors  of  polished  granite  and  translucent  alabaster 
make  it  one  of  the  most  magniflcent  monuments  of 
Egypt. 

And  now  as  it  rises  over  the  head  of  the  silent 
Sphinx,  we  gain  our  last  view  of  the  Great  Pyramid, 
towering  in  the  background  and  dominating  all  this 
scene,  so  rich  in  monuments  of  a decadent  people’s 
one-time  magnificence,  so  strewn  with  landmarks  that 
determine  for  us  the  course  of  that  long  road  by  which 
man  has  journeyed  through  past  ages  to  attain  his 
present  exalted  station. 

Our  next  position  is  to  be  out  there  in  front  of  the 
Sphinx. 


Po£ltion  26.  Map  5. 


140  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Position  27o  The  great  Sphinx  of  Gizeh,  the 
largest  royal  portrait  ever  hewn 

At  last  we  stand  before  the  silent  mystery  of  the 
Sphinx.  Its  time-scarred,  weather-beaten  face  looks 
out  upon  the  plain,  and  fronts  the  rising  sun,  as  it  has 
done  these  many  thousand  years,  and  still  we  question 
its  mute  lips  in  vain  as  to  its  age  and  origin.  Behind 
it,  as  if  under  its  mysterious  guardianship,  rises  the 
second  pyramid,  before  which,  on  its  east  front,  we 
discern  the  ruins  of  its  temple,  which  we  have  already 
seen  from  the  summit  of  the  Great  Pyramid  (Position 
21).  In  the  age  when  that  pyramid  was  being  built,  or 
perhaps  earlier,  there  arose  here  a promontory  of  rock, 
a jutting  headland  of  the  cliff,  which  one  of  these 
remote  kings  chose  as  the  site  and  the  material 
for  his  statue.  For  you  must  know  that  the  sphinx, 
which  is  a very  common  form  throughout  Egypt,  is 
but  a symbolic  portrait  of  the  king.  The  lion’s  body, 
with  its  forepaws  extending  as  you  see  beneath  the 
cliff  on  which  we  stand,  is  the  symbol  of  the  king’s 
might,  and  the  human  head  is  a portrait  of  the  king. 
Hence,  with  the  exception  of  a few  sphinx-statues 
of  the  Queen  Hatshepsut,  the  sphinx  always  por- 
trays a man,  and  even  the  queen’s  sphinx-portraits 
always  represent  her  as  a man.  The  Greeks  therefore 
misunderstood  the  character  of  the  sphinx,  in  represent- 
ing it  as  a female  creature.  Out  of  this  headland  of 
rock,  then,  the  royal  portrait  was  hewn,  and  as  it  now 
stands,  it  is  still  a part  of  Mother  Earth.  But  already 
in  remote  antiquity,  as  far  back  as  the  15th  century 
B.  C.,  the  wind-swept  sands  of  the  desert  had  driven 
in  and  covered  it  to  the  breast,  piling  up  in  vast  drifts 
before  it,  and  spreading  in  mighty  billows  which  en- 


Positlon  27.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


141 


gulfed  both  the  sphinx  and  the  granite  gateway,  which 
is  just  behind  us  on  our  left. 

Right  before  us  is  evidence  of  the  age  when  this  sand 
inundation  had  already  occurred.  Do  you  see  stand- 
ing between  the  forepaws  and  before  the  breast  of  the 
monster,  that  large  granite  tablet?  That  is  a massive 
architrave  taken  from  the  granite  portal,  which  we  have 
just  visited,  for  a monument  of  King  Thutmosis  IV  of 
the  18th  Dynasty.  By  appropriating  it  there  one  was 
saved  the  trouble  of  quarrying  it  at  the  first  cataract 
and  transporting  it  over  six  hundred  miles  down  the 
river  to  this  place.  It  contains  an  inscription  which 
narrates  how,  while  he  was  still  prince  only,  Thutmosis 
IV  was  hunting  in  this  region,  and  proceeds : “One  of 
those  days  it  came  to  pass  that  the  prince  Thutmosis 
came  coursing  (in  his  chariot)  at  the  time  of  midday 
and  he  rested  in  the  shadow  of  this  great  god  (the 
sphinx).  A vision  of  sleep  seized  him  at  the  hour  when 
the  sun  was  in  the  zenith  and  he  found  the  majesty  of 
this  revered  god  (the  sphinx)  speaking  with  his  own 
mouth,  as  a father  speaks  with  his  son,  saying : ‘Behold 
thou  me ! See  thou  me ! my  son  Thutmosis.  I am  thy 


father  ....  who  will  give  to  thee  my  kingdom  on 

earth The  land  shall  be  thine  in  its  length  and 

breadth The  sand  of  this  desert  upon  which  I 


am  has  reached  me.  Turn  to  me,  that  the  desire  of 
my  heart  may  be  accomplished.’  ” By  thus  promising 
him  the  kingdom,  the  god  (as  the  Egyptians  of  the 
time  already  thought  the  sphinx  to  be)  furnished  the 
young  prince  with  a sufficient  motive.  He  evidently 
cleared  the  sphinx  of  sand,  and  received  the  kingdom 
in  fulfillment  of  the  promise  made.  Subsequent  gener- 
ations had  the  incident  recorded,  as  the  story  of  how 
he  gained  the  throne  by  an  oracle  of  the  god. 


Position  27.  Map  5. 


142 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


The  monument  was  restored  by  Ramses  II,  by  the 
Ptolemies  and  the  Romans,  but  in  modern  times  it  was 
first  excavated  by  Caviglia,  early  in  the  last  century; 
then  by  Mariette,  and  finally  by  Maspero  in  1886. 

Enough  has  been  cleared  so  that  we  may  appreciate 
the  colossal  proportions  of  the  monster.  The  body  is 
said  to  be  140  feet  long  and  the  sacred  serpent  that 
once  crowned  the  forehead  was  seventy  feet  from  the 
pavement.  And  if  a man  were  standing  on  the 
ear,  he  would  not  be  able  to  reach  the  top  of  the 
head  with  upraised  arm.  How  puny  appear  these 
futile  moderns,  thus  contrasted  so  sharply  with  the 
work,  of  their  great  ancestors ! For  it  was  thirty  feet 
from  side  to  side  of  that  massive  royal  head-dress,  the 
face  is  fourteen  feet  wide  and  the  mouth  is  seven  feet 
and  seven  inches  in  length.  What  a misfortune  for  the 
Sphinx  that  the  Moslems  are  forbidden  images  of 
every  sort ! For  what  with  their  iconoclastic  zeal,  and 
the  vandalism  of  the  Mamlukes,  who  used  it  for  a 
rifle  target,  not  to  say  anything  of  the  winds  and 
storms  of  thousands  of  years,  it  has  lost  all  its  original 
comeliness.  Yet  up  to  the  last  century  it  had  still  pre- 
served some  of  the  original  red  flesh-color  on  the  face; 
and  portions  of  the  beard  were  found  between  the 
forepaws ; one  of  these  fragments  is  still  lying  there 
and  another  is  in  the  British  Museum.  The  face  was 
once  winning  and  beautiful  and  is  so  spoken  of  by  the 
Arab  chroniclers.  The  body  is  also  excessively 
weathered,  so  that  the  statue  of  some  god  attached  to 
the  breast  between  the  forepaws  is  quite  unrecogniz- 
able. This  weathering  is  to  some  extent  ancient  and 
has  been  repaired  with  masonry  sheathing  over  the 
paws  and  sides,  a work  of  probably  Roman  date. 


Position  27.  Map  5. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


143 


There  are  between  the  paws  a chapel  and  an  altar  of 
late  date. 

The  origin  of  the  sphinx  is  still  a mystery,  and  as  it 
has  never  been  entirely  excavated  and  freed  from  sand, 
it  is  possible  that  complete  clearance  around  its  base 
might  solve  the  problem.  The  tablet  between  the  fore- 
paws refers  to  Khafre,  the  builder  of  the  second  pyra- 
mid, but  the  face  of  the  stone  is  so  broken  where  the 
name  occurs  that  it  is  not  clear  in  what  connection  he 
is  mentioned.  But  because  of  this  mention  of  him,  and 
the  proximity  of  his  pyramid,  he  is  often  said  to  have 
been  the  author  of  the  sphinx.  You  can  almost  see 
from  here  the  mastaba  shafts,  cut  down  through  the 
leviathan’s  back.  There  are  no  shafts  here  earlier  than 
the  Old  Kingdom,  so  that  the  king  who  made  the 
sphinx  must  have  dismantled  some  Old  Kingdom 
mastabas  to  clear  the  rock  for  the  creation  of  his 
monster  statue,  which  therefore  is  not  earlier  than  the 
3rd  Dynasty,  and  is  not  to  be  attributed  to  prehistoric 
men,  as  is  sometimes  done.  Latterly  some  evidence  has 
been  adduced  to  show  that  the  statue  is  a portrait  of 
the  12th  Dynasty  king,  Amenemhet  III,  but  the  ques- 
tion still  remains  uncertain. 

This  native  who  has  stationed  himself  so  pictur- 
esquely just  before  us  would  be  very  glad  to  carry 
us  to  the  Mena  House  upon  the  rocking  back  of  his 
leisurely  camel,  and  if  we  have  a few  piasters  in  our 
pocket,  and  do  not  fall  over  the  head  of  the  beast  as 
he  awkwardly  raises  his  hind  quarters  in  climbing 
to  his  feet  after  he  has  dropped  down  to  let  us  mount, 
I have  no  doubt  the  novelty  of  the  ride  would  be  en- 
joyed. At  the  hotel  we  should  find  an  incongruous 
modem  tram,  which  would  whisk  us  back  to  Cairo, 


Position  Z7.  Map  5. 


144  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

with  a speed  quite  unprecedented  in  this  ancient  land, 
giving  us  little  opportunity  to  marvel  as  we  ruminate 
upon  the  wonders  we  have  seen  in  the  mighty  ceme- 
tery of  Gizeh,  the  most  wonderful  cemetery  in  the 
world.  From  Cairo  we  shall  go  southward  to  the 
site  of  the  famous  city  of  Memphis.  The  number  28 
in  red  on  Map  4 indicates  in  a general  way  our  next 
position. 

Position  28.  Statue  of  Ramses  II,  an  emhelUsh- 
ment  of  a now  vanished  temple  of  Memphis 

How  are  the  mighty  fallen ! We  stand  on  the  Nile 
bottoms,  eleven  miles  south  of  the  cemetery  of  Gizeh, 
and  you  would  not  imagine  that  these  palms  are  now 
growing  in  what  was  once  the  streets  of  mighty  Mem- 
phis, the  vast  city,  whose  southern  extremities  reached 
to  Dashur,  and  whose  northern  limits  were  close  upon 
Gizeh  (see  Map  4).  Here  where  now  the  waving 
palms  are  supreme,  was  the  great  capital  city,  which 
grew  up  in  the  days  of  the  Old  Kingdom,  and  became 
a metropolis  of  the  ancient  land.  As  reign  after  reign 
added  to  its  magnificence  and  beauty,  its  fame  passed 
into  other  lands ; Greek  travelers  wrote  of  it,  and 
Greek  poets  sang  of  it,  and  in  the  days  of  the  Roman 
empire  it  was  the  goal  of  wealthy  Roman  tourists,  as 
Thebes  is  now  for  the  hosts  of  Cook.  As  far  down 
as  the  12th  century  of  our  own  era,  the  Arab  writers 
speak  of  it  as  filled  with  an  amazing  host  of  marvel- 
ous monuments ; but  after  that  it  began  to  serve  as 
a quarry  for  building  stone,  and  under  the  attacks  of 
the  Cairene  architects  of  the.  Moslem  sultans  its  great 
walls  and  monuments  gradually  melted  away,  until  as 
century  after  century  passed,  they  disappeared  one 
after  another  like  those  of  Rome  under  a similar  proc- 


Posltlon  28.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


145 


ess.  But  unfortunately  this  process  was  not  arrested 
in  its  course  as  at  Rome,  but  ceased  only  with  the  total 
annihilation  of  the  city. 

A vast  city,  filled  with  splendid  temples,  colonnades, 
long  avenues  of  sphinxes,  colossal  obelisks,  huge 
sculptured  statues  of  the  Pharaohs  like  this  lying  here, 
lovely  temple  lakes  with  groves  and  gardens  and  vine- 
yards, gorgeous  palaces,  luxurious  chateaus  of  the  rich, 
with  fish  pools  and  tempting  summer  houses,  bright 
with  myriad  flowers  of  all  climes  and  hung  with  lotus 
blossoms ; vast  quarters  set  apart  for  the  hosts  of 
foreigners  of  every  race  that  frequented  the  city,  from 
Mycenae,  the  upper  Euphrates,  and  the  Phoenician 
cities  on  the  north,  to  the  dark-skinned  Nubians  of  the 
upper  Nile  on  the  south ; huge  market-places  and 
bazaars  where  these  foreigners  traded  and  offered  to 
the  luxurious  Egyptians  the  products  of  every  clime 
and  sun ; beautiful  canals  from  the  river,  branching 
through  the  city  and  furnishing  coolness  and  refresh- 
ing to  the  thirsty  gardens,  or  bearing  in  a glittering 
procession  a line  of  temple  barges,  decked  with  flowers, 
and  filled  with  chanting  priests  and  singing  women, 
as  they  conduct  the  sacred  Apis-bull  from  one  great 
temple  to  another — a world  metropolis  with  all  these 
and  a thousand  other  vanished  splendors,  sleeps  on  this 
spot  under  these  swaying  palms.  You  may  go  miles 
over  the  ground  which  it  once  occupied,  and  of  all 
that  once  made  it  famous,  you  will  find,  besides  a few 
mounds,  only  this  colossus  and  another  not  far  away, 
which  we  shall  not  have  time  to  visit. 

Such  statues  as  this  fallen  giant  here  were  placed  by 
the  kings  of  the  Empire  in  front  of  their  temples 
on  either  side  of  the  entrance.  Its  presence  there- 
fore indicates  that  we  are  standing  on  the  site  of  a 


Position  28.  Map  4. 


146  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

temple  in  the  city.  This  fact  will  explain  more  graph- 
ically than  any  words  why  it  is  that  we  shall  not  visit 
any  of  the  Delta  cities,  with  one  exception.  They  were 
all  like  Memphis,  so  near  the  northern  frontier  that 
the  invading  armies  of  century  after  century  for  thou- 
sands of  years  have  swept  over  them,  till  there  is 
nothing  left  but  a confused  expanse  of  scattered 
blocks.  In  the  vicinity  of  Cairo,  the  ruin  wrought  by 
siege  and  sack  has  been  succeeded  by  the  slow  anni- 
hilation which  follows  the  pick  of  the  quarryman. 
There  are  many  Delta  cities,  known  to  have  been 
places  of  great  importance  and  power,  of  which  we  do 
not  even  know  the  site  at  the  present  day.  Thus  all 
knowledge  of  the  location  of  the  great  commer- 
cial city  of  Naukratis  was  lost,  until  Prof.  Petrie, 
wandering  in  the  Delta,  one  lucky  day,  happened  upon 
a stone  bearing  the  name  of  the  city.  We  shall  meet 
no  temple  walls  still  standing,  until  we  reach  them  far 
south  in  Upper  Egypt,  where  distance  from  the  north- 
ern invader  and  the  Moslem  builder  has  secured  them 
some  measure  of  immunity  and  left  them  to  the  mercies 
of  old  Father  Time. 

This  statue  is  a portrait  of  Ramses  II,  who  reigned 
some  fifteen  hundred  years  later  than  the  builders  of 
the  Gizeh  pyramids.  You  will  remember  that  we 
looked  upon  the  face  of  his  father,  Sethos  I,  in  flesh  and 
blood  in  the  Cairo  Museum.  The  statue  as  it  lies  is 
some  twenty-flve  feet  long,  to  which  we  must  add  the 
height  of  the  crown,  which  stands  on  the  ground  at 
its  head.  It  is  of  granite,  and  was  brought  from  the 
quarries,  which  we  shall  later  see  at  the  first  cataract, 
some  six  hundred  miles,  to  this  place.  Large  as  it 
seems,  compared  with  the  native  who  stands  upon  it. 


Position  28.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


147 


it  is  a pigmy  beside  the  colossi,  which  we  have  yet 
to  see. 

We  move  westward  now  to  view  a portion  of  the 
cemetery  of  ancient  Memphis,  and  as  is  usual  in 
Egypt,  we  shall  find  the  city  of  the  dead  in  a much 
better  state  of  preservation  than  the  city  of  the  living. 
The  red  lines  numbered  29  in  the  lower  left-hand  por- 
tion of  Map  4 show  this  next  position,  and  that  we 
shall  be  looking  west  with  the  Nile  behind  us. 

Position  29.  The  earliest  occupation  of  men  and- 
the  first  attempt  at  a pyramid,  Sakkara 

It  is  but  a limited  stretch  of  the  Memphite  cemetery 
which  we  have  before  us ; but  it  includes  a remarkable 
monument,  which  we  promised  you  should  see,  as  we 
stood  on  the  summit  of  the  Great  Pyramid.  Gizeh  and 
that  pyramid  are  now  some  eleven  miles  away  to  our 
right,  as  we  look  out  upon  this  lineal  ancestor  of  the 
Great  Pyramid,  without  which  the  Great  Pyramid  never 
would  have  been  (see  Map  4).  This  terraced  struc- 
ture was  built  by  King  Zoser,  a Pharaoh  of  the  3rd 
Dynasty.  Let  us  remember  him,  for  we  shall  find  a 
curious  inscription  of  his  at  the  first  cataract  (Posi- 
tion 88).  He  stands  at  the  dawning  of  the  Old  King- 
dom, before  any  pyramid  had  ever  been  built. 

He  first  erected  here  a mastaba,  much  like  those  later 
built  at  Gizeh,  which  you  saw  there.  This  mastaba  of 
Zoser  is  now  in  the  heart  of  that  strange  terraced  struc- 
ture yonder ; for  he  enlarged  his  original  mastaba  upon 
the  ground  and  also  carried  it  upward  by  placing  upon 
it  a second  mastaba,  smaller  than  the  first.  This 
process  he  repeated,  producing  at  last  the  terraced 
structure  as  you  see  it  now.  It  is  neither  pyramid  nor 


Positions  28,  29.  Map  4. 


148  EGYPT'  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

mastaba,  but  a kind  of  transitional  form  between  the 
two.  It  is  one  of  the  most  important  links  connecting 
the  mastaba  and  the  pyramid.  One  of  Zoser’s  succes- 
sors, Snofru,  the  last  king  of  the  3rd  Dynasty,  com- 
pleted the  transition,  and  after  building  a terraced 
monument  like  this,  he  filled  out  the  terraces  in  a 
smooth  slope  at  the  pyramid  angle  of  52°.  This  was 
the  first  pyramid  ever  built,  and  it  now  stands  at  Me- 
dum,  near  the  south  end  of  our  sixty-mile  line  of 
pyramids. 

We  thus  trace  the  development  from  the  sand 
heap  through  the  mastaba ; then  this  terraced  structure 
before  us,  and  finally  the  first  of  all  pyramids  of  Me- 
dum.  Strange  that  so  soon  after  the  attainment  of  the 
pyramid  form  by  this  process,  the  erection  of  the  great- 
est pyramid  ever  built  should  follow ! It  is  like  the 
appearance  of  a Shakespeare  so  early  in  the  history  of 
the  English  drama.  But  we  have  before  us,  I repeat, 
one  of  the  landmarks  in  the  path  of  that  long  develop- 
ment which  led  up  to  and  made  possible  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid. How  fortunate  are  we  when  these  surviving 
footprints  of  early  man  are  not  found  scattered  and 
isolated,  but  as  here,  one  following  upon  another,  and 
all  leading  upward  toward  some  summit,  which  we 
have  already  recognized. 

This  terraced  tomb  of  Zoser  is  196  feet  high,  and 
exceeds  in  height  as  it  does  in  age  all  the  surround- 
ing  pyramids.  Why  it  should  have  been  dropped  in 
here  at  this  point,  long  before  neighboring  Memphis 
was  capital,  or  there  were  any  other  royal  tombs  here, 
we  do  not  know.  The  surrounding  pyramids  are  all 
of  the  5th  and  6th  Dynasties,  in  accordance  with  what 
we  said  at  Gizeh,  that  in  following  our  sixty-mile  line 
of  pyramids  southward,  we  should  be  passing  from  the 


Position  29.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


149 


older  to  the  younger  and  moving  down  the  centuries 
as  we  move  down  the  line;  but  there  are  individual 
exceptions  like  this  tomb  of  Zoser  and  the  pyramid  of 
Medum,  already  referred  to. 

Let  us  not  forget  that  most  of  the  tombs  in  this  cem- 
etery are  invisible.  The  thousand  generations  that 
lived  at  Memphis  now  sleep  beneath  our  feet.  On 
every  hand  are  covered  tombs,  shrouded  in  the  ac- 
cumulated sands  of  thousands  of  years.  You  may  sink 
a shaft  almost  anywhere  here  and  find  a masonry 
tomb  or  mastaba,  and  there  are  literally  miles  of  the 
humbler  burials  of  the  poor  distributed  along  this 
desert  margin.  Practical  considerations  alone,  if  myth 
and  religion  had  not  led  the  same  way,  would  have 
forced  the  ancient  Egyptians  to  bury  their  dead  in 
these  unproductive  sands,  rather  than  in  the  cultivable 
soil  of  the  restricted  Nile  bottoms,  for  during  all  these 
thousands  of  years  at  least  ten  million  of  people  died 
in  Egypt  every  century,  and  a hundred  million  every 
thousand  years,  all  of  whom  it  was  desired  to  place  in 
permanent  resting-places,  and  many  in  enduring  ma- 
sonry tombs.  A portion  of  this  sleeping  host  there- 
fore lies  beneath  our  feet,  wherever  we  walk,  over 
these  desolate  sands,  and  yonder  swarthy  native  shep- 
herd little  knows  how  many  generations  of  his  ances- 
tors he  is  trampling  under  foot,  as  he  drives  home- 
ward his  little  flock.  In  him  and  his  flock,  backed  by 
the  tomb  of  one  of  his  ancient  rulers,  we  are  again 
confronted  with  that  ever-present  contrast,  between  the 
modern  and  the  ancient  condition  of  this  people. 
From  the  creation  of  such  works  as  yonder  tomb,  at 
the  very  dawn  of  human  history,  they  have  fallen  until 
their  sole  industries  are  herding  and  agriculture,  the 


Position  29.  Map  4. 


150  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

primitive  avocations  of  their  ancestors  in  the  remote 
days  that  lie  far  behind  this  tomb  of  Zoser. 

But  not  merely  this  man’s  own  ancestors  are  buried 
here ; the  ancestors  of  his  cattle — at  least  some  of 
them — also  lie  in  this  vast  cemetery!  For  here  was 
buried  at  his  death,  the  sacred  Apis-bull,  and  long 
generations  of  the  ever-reincarnated  god  are  here 
interred  in  vast  galleries,  having  a total  length  of 
some  1,150  feet,  hewn  in  the  rock  beneath  these  sands. 
The  embalmed  body  of  the  animal  w’as  regnlarly  buried 
in  a huge  granite  sarcophagus  about  thirteen  feet  long 
and  weighing  sixty-five  tons.  Twenty-four  of  these 
sarcophagi  are  still  in  place  in  the  chambers  hewn  out 
for  them.  The  temples  built  over  these  galleries  have 
now  disappeared,  but  in  classic  times  the  whole,  known 
as  the  Serapeum,  was  the  shrine  to  which  thousands 
of  pilgrims  annually  journeyed,  walking  over  these 
very  sands  where  we  now  stand ; and  a wealthy  and 
influential  priesthood  maintained  a splendid  ritual  and 
daily  service  of  the  god.  It  was  for  centuries  one  of 
the  most  important  religious  centres  of  antiquity,  es- 
pecially when  under  the  Ptolemies,  the  bull  (Osir-) 
Apis  was  identified  by  misunderstanding,  with  the 
popular  foreign  god  Serapis.  Thus  among  the  hosts 
of  pilgrims  were  found  large  numbers  of  foreigners 
from  all  parts  of  the  classic  world.  But  all  its  glory  is 
now  departed,  and  flocks  and  herds  are  now  driven 
over  its  sand-covered  avenues  of  sphinxes  and  fallen 
sanctuaries.  It  was  utterly  forgotten,  save  by  the 
learned  few  who  knew  of  it  in  the  literature  of  the 
Greeks,  until  it  was  discovered  and  excavated  by 
Mariette  in  1851. 

We  shall  not  stop  to  look  into  the  burial  vaults ; we 
must  return  toward  Cairo,  and  visit  the  quarries, 


Position  29.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


151 


whence  came  the  stone  for  the  pyramids.  These  quar- 
ries you  find  on  Map  4,  about  seven  miles  south  of 
Cairo,  not  far  from  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile. 

Position  30.  Quarry  chambers  of  Masara  whence 
came  the  blocks  for  the  Great  Pyramid 

Do  you  remember  those  2,300,000  two  and  a half 
ton  blocks  in  the  Great  Pyramid  ? This  is  where  most 
of  them  were  taken  out.  The  chambers  before  us  be- 
long to  the  great  quarry  of  Masara ; there  are  others 
in  the  vicinity,  especially  that  of  Turra,  this  last  hav- 
ing also  doubtless  furnished  limestone  for  the  great 
pyramid.  You  will  remember  that  as  we  stood  on  the 
summit  of  the  pyramid,  we  looked  eastward  and  1 
called  your  attention  to  the  location  of  the  quarries 
(page  120).  We  noted  the  broad  plain  of  the  valley, 
across  which  the  stone  was  transported.  As  we  stand 
here  and  look  out  you  see  the  glimmer  of  light  from  the 
opening,  far  behind  that  huge  central  pillar  which 
supports  the  roof.  Now  imagine  the  long  lines  of 
swarthy  workmen  tugging  at  the  ropes  as  they  draw 
out  the  massive  blocks,  the  volleying  click  of  innumer- 
able chisels  as  the  blocks  are  hewn  from  the  mountain, 
and  the  hoarse  shouts  of  thousands  of  slaves,  mingled 
with  the  sharp  call  of  the  task-master  and  overseers 
when  there  is  any  sign  of  lagging.  All  this  these  walls 
have  looked  upon  as  the  vast  galleries  were  pierced 
deeper  and  deeper  into  the  mountainous  cliff.  What 
tales  of  misery  they  could  tell — of  foreign  captives 
lashed  to  their  tasks  by  the  thousand,  driven  into  these 
galleries  fresh  from  their  Syrian  homes,  where  the 
Pharaoh  found  them  on  his  last  victorious  campaign. 
And  now  they  are  forced  to  furnish  the  stone  to 


Position  30.  Map  4. 


152  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

build  the  temple  which  shall  commemorate  the  Pha- 
raoh’s victory  and  their  own  captivity,  for  upon  its 
walls  in  triumphant  reliefs  and  swelling  songs  of  praise 
to  the  Pharaoh’s  prowess,  the  story  of  his  conquest 
shall  be  recorded,  with  long  lists  of  the  towns  from 
which  the  wretched  captives  were  gathered  in  like 
cattle.  Such  records  we  shall  see  when  we  have 
reached  Thebes.  It  is  in  these  places  that  the  Pha- 
raohs spent  much  of  the  wealth  gained  in  Syrian  con- 
quests in  order  to  appease  the  gods,  who  gave  them 
victories,  with  larger  and  more  splendid  temples. 
These  we  shall  visit  in  the  cities  of  the  upper  river. 
There  we  shall  observe  how  the  great  builders,  whose 
names  are  all  about  us  here,  carved  on  the  walls  of 
these  vast  galleries,  employed  the  materials  which 
captive  labor  furnished  them. 

From  these  quarries  seven  or  eight  miles  south  of 
Cairo  we  shall  now  move  to  the  site  of  ancient  Heliop- 
olis, some  six  miles  on  the  other  side,  or,  to  speak  more 
exactly,  on  the  northeast  side.  Our  position  is  given 
by  the  red  lines  numbered  31  in  the  upper  portion  of 
Map  4. 

Position  31.  The  sole  survivor  of  a great  city,  the 
Obelisk  of  Heliox>olis 

This  granite  shaft  is  the  only  considerable  monu- 
ment on  this  site  to  tell  us  that  here  once  rose  a mag- 
nificent temple  in  the  heart  of  a great  city.  We  might 
now  repeat  almost  every  word  that  we  have  used  of 
Memphis ; indeed,  if  we  substitute  the  Mnevis  bull  for 
the  Apis-bull  in  that  description,  it  will  apply  exactly, 
except  in  the  matter  of  the  north  and  south  limits  of 
the  city  there  given.  It  was  the  oldest  great  religious 


Positions  30,  31.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


153 


centre  of  ancient  Egypt.  Here  the  priests  of  the  sun- 
god  had  a sacred  school  from  which  went  forth  most 
of  the  religious  compositions  which  later  became  au- 
thoritative. The  temple  was,  during  the  Empire, 
second  only  to  that  of  Amon  at  Thebes,  in  wealth  and 
power.  In  Greek  times  it  was  still  famous  for  the  wis- 
dom of  its  priesthood.  Tradition  states  that  Plato 
studied  thirteen  years  here.  The  city  itself  was  early 
destroyed,  and  Strabo,  the  geographer,  found  it  in 
ruins  in  GO  B.  C. ; but  his  priestly  guides  pointed  out 
to  him  the  rooms  of  Plato  and  the  Greek  mathemati- 
cian, Eudoxus.  But  the  sacred  college  in  which  they 
studied  no  longer  existed.  Heliopolis  is  the  Greek 
name  of  the  city;  it  was  called  On  by  the  Egyptians 
and  in  this  form  it  is  mentioned  a number  of  times  in 
the  Old  Testament.  You  will  remember  especially 
how  the  Pharaoh  gave  to  Joseph  the  daughter  of  a 
priest  of  On  as  his  wife.  That  priest  ministered  under 
the  shadow  of  this  very  obelisk,  and  it  had  already 
been  standing  several  centuries  at  that  time. 

The  city  is  also  of  interest  because  the  obelisk  now  in 
New  York  once  stood  here  with  its  fellow,  which  is 
now  in  London ; for  obelisks  always  stood  in  pairs  at 
the  entrance  of  a temple.  They  were  erected  to  cele- 
brate the  thirtieth  anniversary,  not  of  a king’s  acces- 
sion, but  of  his  appointment  as  heir  to  the  throne.  On 
all  four  sides  of  this  obelisk  in  a column  of  hiero- 
glyphic beautifully  cut  down  the  middle,  are  recorded 
the  full  titles  and  names  of  King  Sesostris  I (Egyptian 
Senwosret,  formerly  pronounced  Usertesen);  with 
the  added  indication  that  the  obelisk  was  erected 
on  the  occasion  of  the  celebration  of  the  king’s 
thirty  years’  jubilee. 


Position  31.  Map  4. 


154  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

The  temple  before  which  this  obelisk  and  its  fellow 
(which  stood  until  the  12th  century)  were  erected,  was 
built  by  Amenemhet  I ; and  his  son,  Sesostris  I,  besides 
erecting  these  obelisks,  made  some  additions  to  the 
temple.  He  left  a record  of  these  works  in  a building 
inscription,  cut  upon  a large  tablet,  in  one  of  the  courts 
of  this  temple.  One  day  when  this  tablet  had  been 
standing  some  five  hundred  years,  in  the  time  of 
Amenophis  II  (18th  Dynasty)  a certain  scribe  seeing 
this  fine  example  of  the  official  prose  current  in  the 
classic  days  of  his  12th  Dynasty  ancestors,  decided  to 
make  a practice  copy  of  it.  Seating  himself  before  it, 
he  produced  a roll  of  leather,  on  which  were  some 
lumber  bills  and  other  memoranda  duly  dated  in  the 
third  year  of  Amenophis  II,  and  turning  it  over  he 
copied  the  fine  old  building  inscription  on  the  back  of 
his  bills.  Sesostris  I’s  great  tablet,  with  its  building 
inscription,  perished  centuries  ago,  but  the  scribe’s 
hasty  copy  in  rapid,  running  hand  on  the  back  of  the 
lumber  bills  is  now  in  the  Berlin  Museum,  and  thus  a 
rare  and  fortunate  accident  has  preserved  for  us 
Sesostris  Fs  building  inscription.  In  this  record  he 
makes  a prophecy  which  has  been  remarkably  ful- 
filled. He  says ; 

“My  beauty  shall  be  remembered  in  his  (the  sun-god’s) 
house. 

My  name  is  the  pyramidion  and  my  name  is  the  lake.” 

The  “pyramidion”  is  the  small  pyramid  which  sur- 
mounts the  obelisk,  and  the  king  means  that  his  name 
shall  be  identified  with  the  obelisk  and  the  sacred  tem- 
ple lake,  made  by  him,  and  thus  immortalized.  And 
strangely  enough  his  obelisk,  with  its  “pyramid- 
ion,” the  only  surviving  monument  of  Heliopolis,  has 


Position  31.  Map  4. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


155 


indeed  preserved  his  name,  and  shall  perpetuate  it  till 
the  end  of  time,  while  all  others  here  have  perished. 

It  is  sixty-six  feet  high,  and  is  wrought  from  a single 
block  of  granite,  quarried  and  worked  at  the  first  cata- 
ract and  brought  down  the  river  on  a huge  barge.  It 
probably  weighs  some  three  hundred  tons.  It  and  its 
now  vanished  comrade  stood  here  in  the  very  path  of 
foreign  invasion  from  Asia  and  Europe,  and  after 
weathering  the  storms  of  war,  which  raged  around  it 
for  three  thousand  years,  its  comrade  fell  some  seven 
hundred  years  ago,  and  was  broken  up  and  carried 
away  by  the  Moslems.  But  the  survivor  has  seen  the 
civilization  of  the  western  world  gradually  becoming 
dominant  in  the  East,  and  bringing  with  it  a reverence 
for  these  mute  witnesses  of  a great  past,  which,  we 
hope,  will  secure  them  an  unlimited  lease  of  life.  In 
this  spirit  the  Service  des  Antiquites  has  erected  this 
protecting  paling  which  you  see  around  the  obelisk, 
to  hold  at  bay  the  native,  the  relic-hunter  and  all  who 
may  be  minded  to  do  it  injury. 

We  here  gain  a good  idea  of  the  rich,  level  soil  of  the 
great  Delta,  although  as  we  are  looking  south  toward 
Cairo,  the  great  portion  of  the  Delta  lies  behind  us, 
stretching  away  for  nearly  a hundred  miles. 

We  have  already  intimated  that  Heliopolis  lay  on 
the  route  from  Asia  into  Egypt.  If  you  will  look  at 
the  Map  (No.  3)  and  trace  the  line  of  railway  as  it 
swings  out  from  the  Delta  eastward,  you  will  be  able 
to  follow  that  ancient  route  to  the  isthmus  and  the 
Suez  Canal.  Long  before  that  railway  was  built,  there 
was  a canal  along  this  line,  connecting  the  Salt  Lakes 
and  the  Nile,  which  is  the  same  as  to  say  the  Red  Sea 
and  the  Nile.  We  know  that  it  was  in  existence  in  the 


Position  31.  Maps  3,  4. 


156 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

days  of  Necho,  before  the  Persians  held  Egypt,  and 
it  is  probable  that  already  in  Ramses  IPs  time  (14th 
century  B.  C.),  his  engineers  had  completed  this  canal. 
Before  the  construction  of  the  canal,  however,  the 
route  it  later  followed  had  been  for  ages  a natural  line 
of  communication  between  Egypt  and  Asia ; for  there 
is  here  a valley,  or  wadi,  as  the  Arabs  say,  known  as 
the  Wadi  Tumilat,  which,  leaving  the  Delta,  extends 
eastward  to  the  isthmus,  like  a river  of  green  through 
the  desert,  that  bounds  it  on  either  hand.  The  district 
around  the  western  end  of  this  wadi  was  the  land  of 
Goshen,  in  which  the  Hebrews  were  given  a home  and 
pasturage  for  their  flocks  and  herds ; while  near  its 
eastern  terminus  was  the  city  of  Pithom,  which  they 
are  said  to  have  built.  You  will  remember  that  the 
Bible  story  states  that  they  built  for  the  Pharaoh  the 
store-cities  of  Ramses  and  Pithom  (Exodus  1:  11). 
The  location  of  Ramses  is  unknown,  but  that  of  Pithom 
has  been  settled  by  the  excavations  of  the  Egypt  Ex- 
ploration Fund  under  Naville.  It  is  the  city  of  Pithom 
which  we  are  now  to  visit.  Find  the  red  lines  num- 
bered 32  in  the  upper  part  of  Map  3. 

Position  32,  The  hriclc  store-chamhers  of  Pithom, 
the  city  built  by  Hebrew  bondsmen — looking 
north 

Standing  on  the  south  side  of  the  Wadi  Tumilat, 
we  look  northward  across  the  desert,  and  yonder  in 
the  middle  distance  the  line  of  palms  marks  for  us  the 
depression  of  the  wadi.  The  ancient  canal,  which 
once  followed  the  wadi,  and  of  which  extensive  re- 
mains are  still  to  be  traced,  has  been  succeeded  by  a 
modern  canal,  which  supplies  the  towns  along  the 
Suez  Canal  with  fresh  water  from  the  Nile.  Here 


Positions  31,  32.  iVIap  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


157 


for  ages  the  traffic  and  commerce  of  Egypt  and  Asia 
passed  along.  Here  were  the  Pharaoh’s  frontier  sta- 
tions, controlling  all  ingress  and  egress.  We  have  the 
hasty  memoranda  of  an  officer  stationed  on  this  fron- 
tier in  the  days  of  the  Hebrews,  noted  on  a piece  of 
papyrus  now  in  the  British  Museum,  in  which  he  re- 
cords the  passage  of  messengers  and  officials  for  sev- 
eral days,  as  they  went  up  to  Syria  on  various  official 
business  of  the  Pharaoh,  a document  showing  how 
active  was  the  communication  between  the  Egypt  and 
the  Syria  of  that  day.  Ramses  II  did  much  for  this 
region,  in  which  the  Pharaohs  of  earlier  times  had 
not  been  interested.  They  had  merely  passed  through 
it  on  their  way  to  their  Syrian  wars,  but  had  given  it 
'little  attention.  Ramses  II,  however,  as  we  have  al- 
ready stated,  possibly  cut  the  canal  through  the  wadi. 
Fifty  miles  north  (directly  in  our  front)  he  built  the 
magnificent  city  of  Tanis  (see  Map  3),  and  in  the 
wadi  itself,  according  to  the  Biblical  narrative,  he 
also  built  the  city  of  Pithom,  where  we  now  stand. 

Large  portions  of  such  a city  are  necessarily  built 
of  sun-dried  brick,  and  in  making  and  laying  such 
brick,  the  kings  of  the  time  employed  thousands  of 
foreign  captives.  There  is  in  Thebes  in  one  of  the 
finer  tombs  there,  a scene  representing  such  captives  en- 
gaged in  brick-making.  When  we  go  up  the  river,  we 
shall  find  the  same  industry  still  in  daily  operation 
(Position  39).  It  was  quite  in  accord  with  the  custom 
of  the  Pharaoh,  therefore,  thus  to  employ  the  Hebrews. 
The  city  is  called  in  the  Biblical  story,  a “store-city,” 
and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  Naville  found  exten- 
sive magazines  and  store-houses  among  these  ruins. 
Here  before  us  are  the  walls  of  such  buildings,  and  it 


Position  32.  Map  3. 


158  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

is  possible  that  the  very  bricks  before  us  were  made 
by  captive  Hebrews. 

Little  is  known  of  the  history  of  this  city  in  later 
times,  but  it  evidently  early  fell  into  ruin,  for  in  its  ex- 
posed position  at  the  door  of  Egypt,  it  could  not  have 
escaped  speedy  destruction.  The  sands  of  the  desert 
then  blew  in  upon  the  wreck,  and  only  these  low  walls 
scattered  over  a few  hundred  feet,  have  survived  to 
show  us  where  the  city  lay.  As  we  have  already  re- 
marked at  our  visit  to  the  site  of  Memphis,  it  is  the 
same  with  all  the  cities  of  Lower  Egy^pt.  The  ruin  of 
war,  the  pick  of  the  Moslem  quarryman,  and  the  rising 
waters  of  the  Nile  have  annihilated  the  cities  of  the 
Delta,  and  with  them  have  perished  forever  some  of  the 
noblest  works  ever  wrought  by  man. 


Position  33.  Pahahiyehs  on  the  river  ready  for 
the  journey  to  the  Upper  Nile 

Who  will  ever  forget  that  happy  day,  when  the 
dahabiyeh,  swinging  out  into  the  river  with  head  to 
south,  began  her  long  struggle  with  the  Nile  current, 
a struggle,  that  carried  one  every  moment  nearer  and 
nearer  to  the  wonders  of  the  upper  river?  The  sailors 
spread  the  vast  triangular  sail,  the  fierce  current  boils 
and  roars  under  the  bow  as  the  mighty  north  wind  fills 
the  huge  canvas;  slowly  the  palms  and  the  villages 
seem  to  move  northward,  till  gathering  way,  the  pictur- 
esque craft  moves  faster  and  faster  mile  after  mile,  and 
the  towers  and  minarets  of  Cairo  drop  behind  a fringe 
of  intervening  palms.  At  last  you  are  off  for  Upper 
Egypt! 

Here  you  are  already  in  that  valley  of  which  we  have 
so  often  spoken,  and  you  can  see  the  tall  cliffs,  which 


Positions  32,  33.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


159 


wall  it  in  on  the  other  shore.  Similar  cliffs  rise  behind 
us.  In  mid-river  is  a dahabiyeh,  and  you  will  be  inter- 
ested to  know  something  of  the  craft  in  which  the  voy- 
age can  be  most  comfortably  made.  It  is  a long,  nar- 
row sail  boat  of  the  simple  rig  so  common  in  the 
east.  Divided  approximately  into  halves,  the  forward 
half  is  devoted  to  the  crew  and  the  cook,  while  the 
after  half  is  occupied  by  the  passenger  cabin.  The 
cook  presides  over  a tiny  kitchen,  perched  like  a dry 
goods  box  on  the  bow,  just  forward  of  the  mast. 
Ordinarily  there  are  no  other  quarters  for  the  crew, 
and  here  on  this  low  forward  deck  they  sleep,  eat,  loaf 
in  the  sunshine,  or  tug  at  the  oars  as  necessity  requires. 
The  passenger  cabin  in  the  after  half  of  the  boat  is 
surmounted  by  an  awning-covered  deck,  furnished 
with  chairs,  settees,  hammocks,  and  a writing  table. 
Below,  the  interior  is  usually  divided  into  four  parts. 
As  you  enter  from  the  crew’s  deck  you  find  yourself  in 
a narrow  passage  leading  down  the  middle  directly 
aft,  having  on  either  side  the  pantries,  store-rooms 
and  servants’  rooms;  these  form  the  first  part.  The 
narrow  passage  leads  to  the  second  part,  the  dining- 
room, which  includes  the  whole  width  of  the  craft. 
Behind’ this  a similar  passage  gives  access  to  the  sleep- 
ing rooms  of  the  passengers,  bath-room  and  the  like; 
while  behind  this  third  part,  lies  the  fourth,  the  draw- 
ing room.  This  arrangement  may  be  varied  somewhat 
at  will ; and  limited  as  that  cabin  appears  for  so  ex- 
tended an  arrangement  of  rooms,  it  is  nevertheless 
convenient  and  comfortable. 

He  who  has  at  some  time  in  his  life  made  the 
voyage  of  the  Nile  in  such  a craft  will  often  sigh  for 
the  dreamy  days  on  that  awning  deck,  lulled  asleep  by 
the  lapping  of  the  swift-flowing  waters,  or  the  slow 


Position  33.  Map  3. 


160  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

chant  of  the  sailors  bending  to  the  heavy  sweeps  when 
the  wind  is  low.  There  is  a certain  charm  about  this 
landscape  which  never  leaves  the  voyager.  The  eye 
wanders  languidly  out  over  the  far,  still  landscape, 
glowing  in  vivid  green  under  the  golden  sunshine;  the 
verdant  plain  is  dotted  here  and  there  with  palm- 
groves,  beneath  which  nestle  picturesque  little  villages, 
looking  out  in  sombre  gray  against  the  deep  green  of 
the  palms,  save  where  the  white  of  the  Moslem 
minaret,  gleaming  through  the  leaves  and  rising  above 
the  treetops,  proclaims  the  Egypt  of  to-day,  when  one 
would  fain  have  pictured  it  all  as  it  was  in  the  days 
of  the  pyramid-builders. 

This  boat  in  mid-stream  here,  is  floating  with  the 
current,  with  all  sails  furled,  the  sailors  at  the  oars 
and  a strong  -wind  astern,  that  flutters  the  stars  and 
stripes  bravely,  not  to  say  also  the  flag  of  the  ubiqui- 
tous Cook,  and  carries  the  boat  rapidly  northward. 
Astern  is  dragging  the  feluka,  or  small  boat,  in  which 
are  the  chicken  coop  and  a lamb  or  two  for  the  larder 
of  the  passengers.  The  other-  craft  moored  to  the 
bank  is  a less  pretentious  affair,  and  no  one  would 
imagine  from  looking  at  it,  the  origin  of  the  word 
“dahabiyeh”  as  applied  to  these  passenger  craft.  It 
means  “golden,”  and  has  descended  from  the  days 
when  such  boats  were  richly  decorated  with  designs 
in  gold,  and  belonged  exclusively  to  the  very  rich. 

The  workmen  just  before  us  are  transporting  the 
large  jars  of  which  we  see  a long  heap  on  the  bank, 
awaiting  shipment  on  the  river.  Such  large  jars, 
are  made  in  great  quantities  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  their 
manufacture  forms  a considerable  industry,  especially 
at  Keneh.  Nothing  is  commoner  than  to  see  such  a 
heap  as  this,  only  vastly  larger,  occupying  the  two 


Position  33.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


161 


decks  of  a pair  of  cargo  boats,  lashed  together  for  the 
purpose  and  floating  in  mid-Nile.  Such  a jar,  un- 
glazed, makes  an  excellent  filter,  and  forms  an  indis- 
pensable part  of  the  equipment  of  a dahabiyeh,  for  the 
yellow  Nile  water,  when  filtered  and  cleansed  of  the 
sand  and  other  foreign  substances  which  it  carries, 
makes  excellent  drinking  water. 

Our  first  stopping  place  as  we  journey  south,  up  the 
Nile,  will  be  about  fifty  miles  from  Cairo,  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  Fayum.  See  Map  6.  Our  first  position, 
as  the  red  lines  numbered  34  on  this  map  show,  will 
be  fifteen  miles  or  so  west  of  the  Nile.  We  shall  look 
southeastward. 

Position  34:,  Watching  a sand  irltirlivind,  from 
the  summit  of  the  Haivara  Pyramid 

Now  Cairo  is  off  to  our  left  fifty  miles  away.  But 
what  a picture  of  desolation ! And  yet  we  are  stand- 
ing in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most  fertile  tracts  in 
the  world.  These  rough  sun-dried  brick  under  our 
feet  form  the  summit  of  the  pyramid  of  Hawara,  which 
stands  in  the  mouth  of  the  Fayum,  and  from  this  ele- 
vated point  of  view  we  are  looking  southeastward 
through  the  valley  which  connects  the  depression  of 
the  Fayum  with  the  Nile  valley  (Map  6).  Out  yon- 
der on  the  horizon  is  the  pyramid  of  Illahun.  We 
should  note  it  well,  for  it  marks  the  southern  end  of 
our  sixty-mile  line  of  pyramids,  to  which  we  have  so 
often  referred ; and  the  12th  Dynasty,  to  which  it  be- 
longs, was  the  last  to  construct  great  pyramids.  That 
line,  then,  of  which  we  have  here  reached  the  end, 
was  in  course  of  construction  during  a period  of  over 
a thousand  years ; and  Lepsius,  during  his  great  expe- 
dition, found  no  less  than  seventy-six  pyramids  in  the 


Positions  33,  34.  Maps  3,  6« 


1G2  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Nile  valley.  What  a line  of  noble  sepulchers,  and 
what  a line  of  kings  who  raised  them!  Out  of  our 
range  of  vision,  on  the  left,  behind  the  hills,  is  the 
pyramid  of  Medum,  the  first  real  pyramid ; built  by 
Snofru,  the  last  king  of  the  3rd  Dynasty.  With  this 
exception,  the  north  half  of  the  pyramid  line  belongs 
to  the  Old  Kingdom,  and  the  south  half  to  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  and  thus  as  we  have  before  noted,  we  have 
passed  down  the  dynasties  and  down  the  centuries  as 
we  have  come  south  from  Gizeh. 

The  kings  who  made  the  12th  Dynasty  so  famous 
took  great  interest  in  the  Fayum.  Here  a depression  in 
the  desert  of  some  thirty  by  forty  miles,  not  differing 
from  those  which  form  the  oases  of  the  Sahara,  had 
been  flooded  by  the  waters  of  the  Nile  inundation, 
which  found  access  to  the  basin  through  the  valley 
down  which  we  are  looking  (IMap  6).  By  enormous 
hydraulic  works,  continued  from  reign  to  reign,  and 
completed  by  Amenemhet  III,  the  waters  were  pushed 
back,  and  the  completion  of  a wall  or  dike  twenty- 
seven  miles  long,  restored  to  cultivation  some 
27,000  acres  of  very  productive  land.  The  body 
of  water  behind  the  dike  was  known  to  the 
Greeks  as  “Lake  Moeris,”  and  its  basin  in  classic 
times,  as  the  waters  continued  to  recede,  became  the 
very  garden  of  Egypt.  We  shall  have  occasion  to 
refer  to  it  again,  when  we  visit  the  ruins  of  its  prin- 
cipal city  (Position  39).  Under  the  12th  Dynasty 
kings,  it  was  connected  with  the  Nile  by  a canal,  and 
served  as  a basin  for  the  storage  of  water  for  use  in  ir- 
rigation. It  was  thus  the  forerunner  of  similar  modem 
works,  like  that  of  the  great  dam  at  Philae,  which  we 
shall  later  see.  The  modem  successor  of  that  canal 
is  visible  on  our  right.  It  is  a natural  channel,  known 


Position  34.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


163 


as  the  “Bahr  Yusuf,”  that  is,  “the  river  of  Joseph,” 
whose  name  is  thus  connected  in  popular  tradition 
with  one  of  the  most  important  sources  of  irrigation 
in  modern  Egypt,  as  it  was  with  the  exploitation  of  the 
country’s  fertility  in  ancient  days. 

The  12th  Dynasty  kings  who  thus  improved  the 
region,  lived  in  the  vicinity,  and  a residence  city  of 
theirs,  now  lost,  was  located  somewhere  between  here 
and  Memphis  (which  is  off  here  on  our  left).  Just 
here  on  our  right,  between  us  and  the  canal,  you 
observe  a few  low  mounds.  These  are  the  edge 
of  the  spot,  which  extends  beyond  our  range  on 
the  right,  where  once  stood  the  labyrinth,  famous 
in  the  literature  of  the  Greeks  as  the  forerun- 
ner of  the  Cretan  labyrinth.  It  is  stated  by  them  to 
have  had  no  less  than  3,000  rooms,  which  is  unques^ 
tionably  an  exaggeration ; but  it  must  have  been  an 
enormous-  building,  for  the  excavation  of  Petrie  on 
the  spot  have  shown  that  it  was  800  by  1,000  feet  on 
the  ground  plan.  From  the  Roman  period  on,  it  was 
used  as  a quarry,  and  the  walls  were  so  completely  car- 
ried away  down  to  the  ground,  that  it  was  very  diffi- 
cult for  Petrie  to  trace  the  plan.  Modem  investigation 
has  therefore  been  unable  to  determine  its  character 
and  use  with  certainty,  but  judging  from  Greek  de- 
scriptions, it  can  hardly  have  been  anything  else  than 
a temple.  Its  builder  was  Amenemhet  III. 

You  have  been  struck  with  the  fact  that  this 
pyramid  on  which  we  stand  is  not  of  stone.  It 
was,  to  be  sure,  once  sheathed  in  a splendid 
casing  of  limestone  masonry,'  which  has  since  been 
removed  for  building  material,  thus  serving  as  a quarry 
like  the  vast  labyrinthine  temple  at  its  base.  But  the 
12th  Dynasty  kings  discovered  that  sun-dried  brick 


Position  34.  Map  6. 


164  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

formed  very  effective  core  masonry  for  such  a struc- 
ture as  a pyramid,  when  properly  cased  in  stone,  and 
thus  they  saved  themselves  enormous  labor  and  ex- 
pense in  the  quarries.  When  completed  this  pyramid 
was  333  feet  and  10  inches  square  on  the  base,  and 
190  feet  high. 

Finding  that  'the  carefully  planned  pyramids  of  their 
predecessors  were  being  opened  and  robbed,  the  kings 
of  this  time  introduced  the  most  ingenious  devices  to 
conceal  the  entrances  to  their  pyramids,  and  to  baffle 
the  robbers  when  the  entrance  was  once  found.  In- 
stead of  making  the  entrance  of  his  pyramid  on  the 
north,  as  was  customary  in  the  Old  Kingdom,  the 
builder  of  this  one  placed  the  descending  passage,  which 
pierced  the  rock  beneath  this  pyramid,  here  on  the 
south  side,  on  our  right,  and  far  to  the  west  of  the 
middle.  The  passage,  after  making  four  turns,  then 
approaches  the  burial  chamber  from  the  north,  having 
gone  clear  around  it!  At  three  of  the  turn's,  progress 
was  completely  barred  by  a huge  trap-door  block, 
weighing,  in  one  case,  twenty-two  tons ; but  the  dis- 
honest architects  of  the  Pharaoh  had  closed  only  the 
first  one,  certain  that  the  royal  family  would  never 
know  what  they  had  done  with  the  other  two,  after 
the  first  was  closed.  The  tomb  robbers,  therefore, 
had  to  cut  their  way  through  the  great  trap-door  block, 
but  were  not  troubled  by  the  other  two.  But  they  were 
completely  taken  in  by  one  of  the  architect’s  devices. 
They  found  the  entrance  to  a certain  passage  carefully 
masoned  up,  and  thinking  it  must  contain  something 
of  value,  or  certainly  lead  to  the  burial  chamber,  they 
removed  the  masonry,  only  to  find  more  behind  it. 
This  also  they  removed,  and  continually  finding  more, 
their  appetites  were  but  sharpened  as  they  saw  how 


Position  34.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


165 


much  labor  had  been  expended  in  making  the  passage 
secure.  After  they  had  thus  removed  a masonry  fill- 
ing from  a passage  about  84  feet  long  they  found  it 
ended  in  an  aimless  cul  de  sac,  in  nothing,  in  solid 
rock ! » 

The  burial  chamber  itself  was  in  the  native  rock 
beneath  the  pyramid,  as  it  is  in  all  pyramids  ex- 
cept the  first  pyramid  of  Gizeh.  There  was  no  door, 
but  it  had  been  entered  on  the  day  of  burial  through 
the  roof.  To  make  this  possible  it  was  necessary  to 
construct  two  roofs  with  a space  between  them.  The 
upper  roof  was  constructed  of  enormous  blocks  of 
limestone  weighing  fifty-five  tons  each,  and  was 
assisted  in  its  burden  bearing  by  an  arch  of  sun-dried 
brick  above  it ; the  lower  roof  covered  the  chamber 
itself  and  had  a trap-door  block  of  quartzite  at  one 
end,  weighing  forty-five  tons.  This  was  lowered  into 
place  on  the  day  of  burial,  after  the  king  had  been  laid 
in  his  sarcophagus.  The  tomb  robbers  were  unable  to 
raise  it,  so  they  cut  away  one  corner  and  crawled 
through.  The  chamber  to  which  they  had  thus  gained 
entrance  is  8 by  22  feet  on  the  floor,  and  6 feet  high, 
and  is  cut  from  one  single  block  of  “glassy  hard” 
quartzite  weighing  110  tons!  Yet  in  spite  of  all  these 
elaborate  and  costly  devices,  which  must  have  ex- 
hausted the  skill  of  the  best  engineers  and  craftsmen 
in  that  ancient  realm,  the  robbers  forced  their  way  into 
that  chamber  deep  under  our  feet  and  despoiled  the 
body  of  the  king  of  his  splendid  regalia,  and  pillaged 
the  sepulcher  of  its  magnificent  furniture. 

Seeing  the  futility  of  such  means  for  protecting  his 
sacred  body,  the  Pharaoh  no  longer  expended  his 
wealth  in  vast  sepulchers  like  these,  and  thus  it  is  that 
we  stand  here  upon  the  summit  of  the  last  pyramid. 


Position  34.  Map  6. 


166  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

When  we  have  arrived  at  Thebes,  we  shall  see  that 
after  a short  interval  of  modest  masonry  tombs,  built 
upon  the  plain,  the  Pharaohs  followed  the  example 
of  their  nobles  and  hewed  vast  tombs  into  the  moun- 
tain side. 

Just  one  more  glance  up  that  connecting  valley  be- 
fore we  go  down ! See  that  cloud  of  sand  which  a 
wind-burst  is  carrying  from  the  desert  into  the  val- 
ley. That  process  has  been  going  on  for  ages.  For 
the  archaeologist  nothing  more  fortunate  could  have 
happened  than  this  gradual  covering  with  sand,  which 
we  have  seen  so  often  burying  fathoms  deep  the  works 
of  the  Pharaohs.  Myriads  of  monuments  that  rejoice 
the  heart  of  the  Egyptologist  would  have  perished 
forever,  had  they  not  been  thus  covered  by  the  timely 
sands  and  hidden  from  the  destructive  hand  of  the 
vandal.  Myriads  more  of  just  such  monuments  still 
remain,  secure  beneath  the  friendly  sands,  awaiting  tlie 
rescuing  hand  of  the  excavator.  But  these  invading 
sands  are  anything  but  a blessing  to  the  peasant. 
They  do  not  in  the  long  run  gain  much  upon  the  Nile 
valley  as  a whole,  but  there  are  certain  districts  where 
they  have  taken  complete  possession. 

Out  yonder  about  midway  between  us  and  the  tent 
of  our  photographer,  you  notice  a transverse  line 
running  across  the  valley.  That  is  the  pipe-line  of 
the  English  engineers,  who  by  thus  piping  the  water 
from  yonder  canal,  are  rapidly  reclaiming  the  district 
between  the  distant  pyramid  and  that  on  which  we 
stand.  We  see  how  the  government  thus  utilizes  the 
Nile  inundation  in  this  practically  rainless  climate,  but 
we  must  now  observe  how  the  native  employs  the 
water,  furnished  him  by  Providence  and  the  author- 


Position  34.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


167 


ities,  in  the  vast  network  of  canals,  which  we  saw 
from  the  top  of  the  great  pyramid. 

We  shall  now  take  time  to  see  something  of  the 
industrial  life  of  the  Egyptian  of  to-day.  Because  the 
manner  of  doing  things  has  been  unchanged  for  cen- 
turies in  this  land,  we  shall  be  learning  of  ancient 
Egypt  in  studying  the  life  of  to-day. 

Position  35.  An  Egyptian  shaduf,  the  oldest  of 
well-siveeps,  lifting  the  Nile  waters  to  the 
thirsty  fields 

In  a tomb-painting  at  Thebes,  there  are  de- 
picted the  ancestors  of  these  men,  raising  the 
waters  of  the  ancient  Nile,  by  means  of  precisely  the 
same  device  as  that  which  we  find  in  the  hands  of  these 
modern  natives  here.  For  many  thousands  of  years 
it  has  been  used  in  this  way.  It  is  simply  the  well- 
sweep  of  our  grandfathers.  A pole  with  a weight  or 
counterpoise  at  one  end,  and  a bucket  hanging  from 
the  other,  is  suspended  at  a point  not  far  from  the 
weight,  which  then  by  its  simple  gravity  draws  up  the 
bucket  when  filled  from  the  waters  below.  The  appa- 
ratus is  of  the  simplest  home-construction ; the  neces- 
sary poles  and  stakes  are  furnished  by  the  scanty  trees 
of  the  neighborhood,  the  weight  is  merely  a huge 
lump  of  Nile  mud,  plastered  on  and  allowed  to  dry ; 
the  bucket  is  only  a hoop  with  a pocket  of  leather 
lashed  to  it,  while  the  ropes  are  twisted  from  palm 
fibre  as  they  have  been  in  the  Nile  valley  since  the 
earliest  times.  With  this  primitive  equipment  the 
native  raises  the  water  from  four  to  eight  feet,  though 
a strong  man  will  lift  it  much  higher;  but  when  the 
Nile  is  low,  it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  a series  of 


Positions  34,  35.  Map  6. 


168 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


“shadufs,”  as  they  are  called,  one  above  another,  till 
the  level  of  the  field  is  reached.  In  the  proper  irriga- 
tion of  one  crop,  which  continues  for  about  one  hun- 
dred days,  the  native  must  raise  to  his  field,  on  the 
average,  nearly  four  hundred  tons  of  water  to  the  acre 
four  or  five  times  during  the  one  hundred  days;  and 
this  necessity  keeps  him  at  work  incessantly  during 
a large  part  of  the  season,  raising  the  indispensable 
1,600  to  2,000  tons  of  water  necessary  for  each  acre. 

An  acre  is  usually  counted  as  consuming  the  entire 
labor  of  one  man  at  the  shaduf.  Wherever  the  traveler 
penetrates,  he  can  hardly  escape  from  its  monotonous 
creak;  day  and  night  it  is  in  his  ears,  and  always 
mingled  with  the  weird  song  of  the  weary  fellah,  as 
he  bends  to  his  heavy  and  never  ending  task.  His 
children,  although  endowed  with  remarkable  keen- 
ness and  intelligence,  are  so  early  put  to  this  blighting 
task,  that  they  grow  up  into  broken  and  exhausted 
energies,  to  sink  at  last  into  an  indifferent  lethargy. 
The  tiny  lad,  watching  his  brother  at  the  middle 
shaduf,  will  be  forced  to  take  his  place  by  his  brother's 
side  before  many  years  have  passed,  and  when  he  is 
old  and  wrinkled  like  the  old  man  at  the  top,  he  will 
still  be  found  bowed  and  bent  beside  the  heavy  shaduf. 

Position  36.  An  Egyptian  sakieh,  or  ox-driven 
bucket  pump,  raising  water  for  irrigation 

A small  proportion  of  the  Egyptian  peasants  are 
able  to  use  another  device  for  raising  the  Nile  waters. 
This  machine,  known  as  a “sakieh,”  is  again  familiar 
to  us  in  a less  primitive  form,  as  the  bucket-  or  chain- 
pump.  A wheel  which  you  see  out  yonder  next  to 
the  river,  as  it  revolves  over  the  water,  carries  an  end- 
less band  of  palm  rope,  which  hangs  in  a loop  in  the 


Positions  35,  36.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  TPiROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


169 


water  beneath  the  wheel.  Distributed  at  intervals 
along  this  band  are  earthen  jars,  which,  as  the  wheel 
revolves  and  the  band  moves,  are  carried  down  into 
the  water,  filled  and  continually  raised  to  the  top, 
where  you  may  see  two  of  them  now,  just  as  they  are 
turning  over  and  discharging  their  contents  into  a 
trough  concealed  behind  the  masonry.  A black, 
horned  buffalo  revolves  a rude  horizontal  wheel,  which 
is  geared  with  the  axle  of  the  band  wheel,  and  as  the 
animal  walks  slowly  round,  the  whole  ponderous  ma- 
chine with  much  creaking  and  groaning  is  kept  in 
operation,  and  a constant  stream  of  water  runs  out 
into  the  network  of  trenches  which  distribute  the 
water  throughout  the  fields.  The  driver  is  often  a 
child  of  tender  age,  and  not  infrequently  in  tbis  land 
of  epidemic  ophthalmia,  we  find  a blind  boy  seated  on 
the  beam  revolving  with  the  machine,  and  driving  the 
oxen  which  furnish  the  power.  Blindness  in  one  eye 
is  often  self-inflicted,  and  old  women  who  understand 
the  use  of  the  noxious  herbs  which  will  destroy  the 
eye,  are  much  in  demand,  for  when  once  the  sight  of 
the  right  eye  is  gone,  the  youth  escapes  military 
service.  How  necessary  such  irrigation  is,  you  may 
infer  from  the  dried  and  parched  condition  of  the  soil 
before  us,  the  clods  of  which  are  baked  to  the  hard- 
ness of  sun-dried  brick,  from  which  they  differ  almost 
only  in  the  matter  of  form. 

Position  37*  “Thowshalt  not  muzzle  the  ox  when 
he  treadeth  out  the  corn”  — Threshing  in 
modern  Egypt 

The  rich  soil  of  Egypt,  fertilized  every  year  by  the 
black  loam  brought  down  by  the  inundation  from  the 
highlands  of  Abyssinia,  yields  two  and  sometimes 


Positions  36,  37.  Map  6. 


170 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


three  crops  a year  under  the  system  of  irrigation  of 
which  we  have  seen  some  examples.  The  chief  cereals 
are  wheat  and  Indian  corn  (maize),  but  large  quanti- 
ties of  rice  are  also  cultivated,  and  to  some  extent  also 
a kind  of  sorghum,  called  Kaffir-corn.  The  soil  yields 
also  an  enormous  return  in  leguminous  plants  and 
vegetables,  which  are  largely  cultivated.  But  the 
methods  employed  are  the  most  primitive  in  the  world ; 
they  use  the  same  wooden  plow,  which  we  find  de- 
picted upon  monuments  five  thousand  years  old,  and 
everything  else  is  equally  antiquated.  Thus  we  see 
them  here  driving  the  threshing  sledge,  a rude  wooden 
affair,  shod  with  iron  teeth  or  cutting  rollers,  by  which 
the  grain  is  gradually  crushed  and  loosened  from  the 
husks.  The  straw  accumulates  in  a circle  around  the 
path  of  the  sledge  as  the  work  goes  on.  The  driver 
lolls  lazily  upon  a rude  seat,  protected  from  the  blazing 
sun  by  a bower  of  straw  and  leaves  over  his  head, 
while  his  incongruous  yoke,  a camel  and  an  ox,  move 
slowly  around  the  circle,  the  dull  swish  of  their  feet  in 
the  straw  and  chaff  furnishing  a monotonous  accom- 
paniment to  his  strange  minor  song.  Behind  them 
in  bright  green  tones,  shines  the  rustling  corn  field, 
and  beyond  rise  the  distant  palm  groves  to  mark  the 
pale  horizon  line.  It  is  such  a picture  as  may  be  seen 
every  day  in  this  ancient  land,  and  only  adds  to  one’s 
wonder  that  this  people  which  became  the  mother  of 
the  mechanical  arts  and  bequeathed  them  to  the  world, 
should  have  wrought  such  wonders  in  stone  and  metal 
and  yet  has  been  unable  to  pass  beyond  the  primitive  ' 
stage  in  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 


Position  37.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


171 


Position  38.  The  winnowing  of  the  grain  after 
threshing 

Here  is  the  next  step  in  the  process  of  harvesting  in 
Egypt.  The  mixture  of  broken  straw,  chaff  and  grain 
is  tossed  into  the  air  by  the  laborer,  and  as  the  heavier 
grain  falls  again  to  the  threshing  floor,  the  chaff  and 
straw  are  carried  a-way  by  the  wind.  How  it  brings 
up  the  symbols  in  th'e  Old  Testament ! “The  wicked 
are  like  the  chaff  which  the  wind  driveth  away.”  But 
it  is  a slow  prooes'S,  as  you  see  here,  requiring  the  toss- 
ing of  the  mixture  over  and  over  again ; but,  as  you 
observe,  there  gradually  gathers  on  the  windward  side 
of  the  heap  (the  right  side  here)  a mass  of  fairly 
clean  grain.  Notice  how  the  shadow  of  the  palm  falls 
across  the  brown  grain-heap,  and  as  the  dust  swirls 
off  to  leeward,  and  the  white  garment  of  the  winnower 
flutters  in  the  breeze,  the  precious  pile  that  means 
bread  for  the  peasant  and  his  little  ones  slowly  grows, 
until  his  comrade,  who  sits  waiting  on  the  ground 
with  empty  basket  by  his  side,  may  fill  it  with  the  win- 
nowed grain  and  carry  it  to  the  neighboring  granary, 
built  up  of  Nile  mud  in  the  peasant’s  courtyard. 

Beyond,  under  the  clustered  palms  lie  the  camels 
so  largely  employed  by  tHese  peasants  in  the  labor  of 
the  field ; and  here  and  there  are  the  black  buffaloes, 
which  in  this  climate  are  a great  boon  to  the  fellah,  as 
they  endure  the  high  temperature  prevalent  here,  much 
better  than  any  of  the  European  or  Asiatic  breeds  of  cat- 
tle. They  give  very  rich  milk  in  considerable  quantities, 
and  the  cream  from  it  is  as  thick,  and  of  the  same  con- 
sistency as  butter.  It  is  so  rich  indeed  that  most  vis- 
itors to  the  country  are  unable  to  eat  it.  Two  other 
threshing  floors  lie  out  yonder  behind  the  first  group 
of  palms,  and  beyond  these,  after  an  open  interval,  is 


Position  38.  Map  6. 


172  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  palm-shaded  village  where  these  peasants  live. 
Here  they  go  through  their  monotonous  round  of 
homely  duties,  generation  after  generation,  and  al- 
though they  have  changed  their  religion  twice,  from 
that  of  ancient  Egypt,  through  Christianity,  to  that 
of  Mohammed ; and  their  language  once,  from  the 
ancient  tongue  now  preserved  only  on  the  monuments, 
to  that  of  the  Arabs,  yet  they  are  in  all  essential  par- 
ticulars, just  what  they  were  when  they  toiled  in  the 
quarries  of  the  pyramid  builders.  The  tombs  scattered 
up  and  down  the  valley  contain  scenes,  which  show 
them  using  the  same  implements,  weaving  the  same 
baskets,  twisting  ropes  from  the  same  material,  play- 
ing the  same  instruments,  and  in  a thousand  ways 
doing  the  same  things  which  are  common  among  them 
now.  As  we  saw  in  the  museum  at  Cairo,  they  are 
also  physically  just  what  they  have  been  for  ages.  Fit 
only  for  the  life  of  the  herdsman  and  the  tiller  of  the 
soil,  they  continue  these  immemorial  callings,  but  the 
vitality  which  once  produced  the  mightiest  works  in 
the  ancient  world  has  vanished  from  their  nature,  and 
this  is  the  great  and  melancholy  change,  with  which 
we  have  been  so  often  impressed. 

Our  next  position  is  given  on  Map  6 by  the  red  lines 
numbered  39 

Position  .39.  Brick  making,  the  task  of  the 
Hehreivs,  as  seen  to-day  among  the  ruins  of 
C rocodil02>olis. 

Just  north  of  the  chief  ancient  city  of  the  Fayum, 
we  stand  looking  nearly  eastward,  but  a trifle  north- 
ward also,  over  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Croco 
dilopolis  (Map  6).  Behind  us  stretches  the  Fayum, 
rising  at  last  to  the  vast  waste  of  the  Sahara,  spreading 


Positions  38,  39.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


173 


out  to  the  far  Atlantic,  while  beyond  the  trees  that 
mark  the  skyline  before  us,  the  Nile  is  some  twenty- 
five  miles  away.  Forty-five  miles  distant  on  our  left 
is  Memphis,  while  on  our  right  are  Thebes  and  the 
splendid  cities  of  the  upper  river.  And  this  is  the 
fertile  Fayum,  you  ask — these  wastes  of  dust  and  dried 
mud!  Far  from  it.  The  fertile  levels  of  the  Fayum 
do  not  differ  essentially  from  those  of  the  rich  bottoms 
in  the  Nile  valley,  which  you  have  already  seen ; hence 
we  shall  not  spend  our  time  on  them.  The  ruins  of  the 
city  and  the  accumulations  of  debris  have  raised  the 
surface  here  to  such  a height  that  irrigation  is  im- 
possible, and  the  ground  is  furthermore  so  cumbered 
with  walls  and  sub-structures  that  it  is  out  of  the  ques- 
tion to  think  of  employing  this  immediate  region  for 
agriculture.  It  lies  open  to  the  burning  sun,  with  noth- 
ing to  relieve  the  scorched  and  parched  condition  from 
year’s  end  to  year’s  end.  But  like  every  such  ruin,  it 
has  a story  to  tell  us. 

Deep  down  under  these  ancient,  crumbling  walls  lie 
the  scanty  remains  of  a town  at  least  as  old  as  the  12th 
Dynasty  kings,  who  nearly  2,000  years  before  Christ 
recovered  this  district  from  the  waters  of  the  lake. 
They  built  a temple  here  sacred  to  the  crocodile-god 
Sebek,  after  whom  the  city  was  called  by  the  Greeks 
“Crocodilopolis,”  the  city  of  the  crocodile.  Though 
rebuilt  by  Ramses  II  some  six  hundred  years  later, 
the  temple  was  not  one  of  the  great  sanctuaries  of  the 
Pharaohs,  and  the  town  never  rose  under  them  to 
any  great  power  or  political  significance.  But  when 
the  Greek  kings,  the  Ptolemies,  came  into  power,  they 
used  the  rich  fields  of  the  Fayum  as  gift  lands  with 
which  to  reward  their  soldiers.  The  second  Ptolemy 


Position  39.  Map  6. 


174  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

(Philadelphus)  refounded  this  town  in  the  3rd  cen- 
tury B.  C.,  built  temples  and  schools,  introduced  the 
Greek  language,  and  completely  Hellenized  the  place. 
He  named  it  after  his  queen  Arsinoe,  whom  he  made 
the  patron-goddess  of  the  town,  and  under  his  protec- 
tion it  rapidly  grew  until  it  contained  in  later  times 
some  100,000  inhabitants.  To  the  houses  of  this  age 
belong  the  walls  which  you  see  rising  almost  as  far  as 
the  eye  can  reach.  The  various  vicissitudes  which  later 
overtook  the  city,  combined  to  preserve  in  these  ruined 
houses,  just  such  documents  as  we  should  find  under 
your  house,  if  it  should  suddenly  be  razed  to  the 
ground.  Being  largely  above  the  reach  of  the  inunda- 
tion, these  documents  have  lain  here  undisturbed  some 
two  thousand  years.  They  are  written  upon  papyrus, » 
which  for  many  centuries  before  and  after  Christ,  was 
the  paper  not  only  of  Egypt,  but  also  of  the  whole 
classic  world.  They  are  chiefly  concerned  with  the 
civil  and  social  life  of  the  time.  You  find  deeds,  leases, 
receipts,  bills,  wills,  transfers,  tax-lists  and  all  the 
documents  of  every-day  business  life.  The  letters 
from  one  member  of  a family  to  another  are  of  espe- 
cial interest ; a brother  writes  to  his  sister,  telling  of  his 
safe  arrival  at  Memphis ; a son  writes  to  his  father 
complaining  that  the  fodder  for  the  livestock,  which 
was  to  have  been  sent  to  him,  has  not  been  sent,  and 
demanding  that  it  be  dispatched  at  once;  all  the  mat- 
ters of  every-day  life  are  found  in  these  moldy  old 
bits  of  papyrus  as  they  are  found  in  our  own  letters  of 
to-day. 

But  more  important  than  any  of  the  letters 
or  the  business  documents  are  the  monuments  of 
Greek  literature  which  have  been  discovered  in  yon- 
der houses  and  similar  cities  near  the  Fayum.  Some 


Position  39.  Map  6. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


175 


of  the  greatest  products  of  Greek  thought  and  literary 
genius,  supposed  to  have  been  irretrievably  lost,  have 
turned  up  among  such  house  ruins ; such  as  the  Con- 
stitution of  Aristotle,  poems  of  Sappho,  works  of 
Isocrates  and  Bacchylides,  and  innumerable  fragments 
of  Homer.  Many  a lost  work  of  the  early  days  of 
Christianity  has  also  been  restored  to  us  from  those 
sombre  walls  out  there ; even  traditional  sayings  of 
Jesus,  not  found  in  the  New  Testament,  and  many  a 
fragment  which  throws  a flood  of  light  on  early  Chris- 
tianity, have  thus  been  reclaimed.  Silent  and  grim, 
these  desolate  streets  have  nevertheless  a message  for 
the  modem  world  such  as  few  ancient  sites  have  pre- 
served. 

But  all  this  time  we  have  been  ignoring  a modern 
industry  here  directly  before  us,  which  is  not  less 
ancient  in  its  origins  than  the  beginnings  of  the  city. 
Almost  as  far  back  as  we  can  trace  Egyptian  civiliza- 
tion, we  meet  the  sun-dried  brick.  We  find  it  as  the 
material  for  the  earlier  royal  tombs  of  some  3400  B.  C., 
far  back  of  the  pyramid  builders ; we  have  seen  it 
in  the  pyramids  of  the  12th  Dynasty  (Position  34)  ; 
we  have  found  it  in  the  store-chambers  of  Pithom, 
where  the  Hebrew  bondsmen  toiled ; the  walls  of  yon- 
der houses  of  the  centuries  just  before  and  after  Christ 
are  built  of  them ; and  finally  we  see  here  the  modern 
natives  engaged  in  their  manufacture,  precisely  on  the 
same  methods  employed  by  their  fathers  five  thousand 
years  ago.  At  the  extreme  right  across  the  road  along 
which  the  donkey  train  is  passing,  the  soft  mud  is  be- 
ing mixed  under  the  feet  of  a fellah,  while  another  at 
a table  molds  it  into  bricks,  two  at  a time.  These 
are  taken  while  still  in  the  molds  and  carried  to  the 
yard  by  a third  native,  who  gently  detaches  them  from 


Position  39.  Map  6. 


176  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  molds  and  leaves  them  to  dry  in  long  rows,  as  you 
see  them  inside  the  enclosure  on  the  left.  Just  to  the 
right  of  the  enclosure  are  also  two  pottery  kilns,  with 
numerous  newly  fired  jars,  many  of  them  broken  in 
firing.  The  smoke  beyond  these  is  from  the  corn-stalk 
fuel  in  another  kiln.  But  to  return  to  the  bricks.  In 
spite  of  the  lack  of  firing  they  make  a very  durable 
wall,  and  in  a practically  rainless  climate  they  stand 
well,  as  you  have  already  noticed  at  other  places.  Here 
the  roofs  of  the  ancient  houses  are  gone,  to  be  sure, 
having  long  since  been  taken  for  the  sake  of  the  wood, 
but  the  walls  still  stand,  in  jllaces  almcfet  to  the  original 
top  course,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  natives,  and 
not  skilled  excavators,  have  dug  out  this  town  in  their 
quest  of  sebach,  as  they  call  the  rich  dust  and  debris 
of  these  ancient  towns,  which  contains  a large  propor- 
tion of  potash  and  ammonia  salts  of  the  greatest  value 
as  fertilizer  for  the  fields  of  the  fellahin. 

Our  next  stop  is  to  be  nearly  a hundred  miles 
south  of  the  Fayum,  and  on  the  opposite  or  eastern 
side  of  the  Nile,  in  order  to  visit  the  Benihasan  tombs. 
Find  these  tombs  on  our  general  Map  3.  We  shall 
be  looking  slightly  east  of  north. 

Position  40.  The  tomb  of  a feudal  lord  at  Beni- 
hasan, built  about  1900  B.  C. 

We  have  now  left  Lower  Egypt  far  behind;  Cairo 
is  almost  in  front  of  us,  167  miles  to  the  north,  but  a 
little  to  the  left  as  we  look  east  of  north,  and  we  are 
almost  midway  between  Cairo  and  Thebes,  which  is 
nearly  behind  us,  183  miles  distant  (Map  3).  We 
stand  on  ground  sacred  to  the  great  barons  and  feu- 
dal lords  of  the  12th  Dynasty,  in  the  Middle  Kingdom. 


Positions  39,  40.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


177 


The  slope  of  the  mountain  extends  backward  and  up- 
ward above  the  cornice  of  this  fagade,  for  we  are  before 
a tomb  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock  of  the  canon  cliffs. 
It  is  our  first  view  of  a cliff-tomh,  of  which  we 
shall  see  many,  especially  when  we  reach  Thebes.  Al- 
ready in  the  Old  Kingdom,  the  nobles  had  begun  to 
hew  out  such  tombs,  and  we  might  have  seen  them 
at  Gizeh,  had  not  the  greater  pyramid  tombs  there 
consumed  so  much  of  our  time ; but  we  shall  see  some 
of  them  from  the  days  of  the  Old  Kingdom,  when  we 
arrive  at  the  first  cataract  (Position  85).  But  it  was 
only  or  chiefly  the  provincial  nobles  of  that  time,  who 
made  use  of  the  cliff-tomb.  By  2000  B.  C.,  however, 
it  had  become  the  prevailing  method  of  tomb  construc- 
tion, and  the  mastaba,  while  it  had  not  disappeared, 
was  no  longer  so  common.  Thus  we  shall  meet  the 
cliff -tomb  as  the  usual  form  from  the  beginning  of  the 
Middle  Kingdom  onward.  At  this  time  we  find  in  it 
all  the  elements  which  we  noticed  in  the  mastaba,  with 
the  modifications  necessary  in  view  of  the  change  in 
the  character  of  the  construction,  that  is,  from  masonry 
on  the  plain  to  solid  rock  in  the  cliff. 

That  door  before  us  gives  access  to  the  chapel-cham- 
ber, as  in  the  mastaba;  but  as  it  was  impossible  to  hew 
the  secret  chamber  for  the  false  body,  the  mortuary 
statue,  out  of  the  solid  rock,  without  leaving  one  side 
of  it  open,  it  was  therefore  made  as  we  see  here ; and 
the  secret  chamber  thus  became  an  open  niche  or  shrine 
in  the  back  wall  of  the  chapel.  Sitting  in  this  shrine, 
and  really  a part  of  it,  for  it  is  hewn  from  the  same 
rock,  is  the  portrait  or  mortuary  statue  'of  the  de- 
ceased ; and  these  sculptured  portraits  of  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  being  thus  still  attached  to  the  native  rock, 
cannot  be  removed  to  enrich  our  museums  like  those 


Position  40.  Map  3. 


178  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

which  you  saw  in  Cairo,  but  they  have  for  the  most 
part  suffered  defacement  and  destruction  in  antiquity. 
The  sepulcher-chamber,  where  the  mummy  was  de- 
posited, is  below  the  chapel,  and  was  reached  by  a 
shaft  leading  from  the  floor  of  the  chapel  vertically 
downward.  Thus,  as  we  have  said,  all  the  parts  of 
the  mastaba  are  here  present. 

This  tomb  is  architecturally  interesting.  Look  at  that 
architrave  timber  resting  upon  the  tops  of  the  pillars. 
Would  you  not  imagine  it  were  hewn  in  wood?  But 
look  further  at  that  row  of  timber  ends  projecting 
under  the  comice.  They  are  but  the  imitation  in  stone, 
of  the  ends  of  the  wooden  timbers  which  supported 
the  roof  in  the  wooden  structure,  unconsciously  used 
by  the  architect  as  his  model.  That  wooden  structure 
perished  four  thousand  years  ago.  What  it  was — a 
house,  a temple,  a storage  magazine,  we  do  not  know ; 
but  certain  it  is,  that  of  that  vanished  wooden  build- 
ing some  of  the  architectural  details  are  here  preserved 
to  us  in  this  stone  tomb.  In  all  probability  the  pillars, 
too,  are  imitated  from  the  same  building.  They  are 
sixteen-sided,  and  when  first  seen  by  the  savants  of 
Napoleon’s  expedition,  they  were  so  struck  with  their 
resemblance  to  the  Doric  column,  that  they  called  them 
“proto-Doric,”  thinking  that  they  were  certainly  the 
predecessors  of  the  Doric  order.  This  impression 
was  enforced  by  the  timber  ends  above  the  architrave, 
which  much  resemble  a similar  detail  in  Doric  archi- 
tecture called  the  “mutule.”  But  you  notice  that  this 
pillar  has  no  capital  (and  for  that  reason,  I have 
called  it  a pillar  and  not  a column),  and  that  it  has  a 
circular  base,  whereas  the  Doric  column  has  a capital, 
but  no  base,  springing  as  it  does  directly  from  the 
pavement.  But  nevertheless  the  purity  of  line  and  fine 


Position  40.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  179 

simplicity  of  this  pillar  do  strongly  suggest  the  Doric 
column,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  examples  of  it 
here  and  elsewhere  in  Egypt,  may  have  been  seen  by 
the  early  Greek  architects,  and  may  have  given  them 
hints  which  affected  the  general  character  of  the  Doric 
column.  In  any  case,  this  colonnade,  thrown  out  be- 
fore the  tomb  chapel,  is  a very  effective  piece  of  archi- 
tecture. 

The  impression  from  it  is  somewhat  marred  by 
a very  necessary  modern  precaution,  the  iron  grating, 
w'hich  keeps  out  the  modern  native  intruder,  at  whose 
hands  the  tombs  at  Benihasan  have  suffered  sadly 
in  past  years.  For  these  chambers  have  been  open  to 
his  forefathers  for  thousands  of  years,  and  in  this  very 
one  before  us,  one  of  his  ancestors,  a scribe  named 
Amenmose,  who  lived  somie  three  thousand  years  ago, 
left  a record  of  his  visit  to  the  place  about  seven  hun- 
dred years  after  its  occupant  had  been  laid  to  rest  in 
it.  He  took  his  pen  from  behind  his  ear,  where  he 
kept  it  as  modern  scribes  do,  and  he  wrote  upon  the 
wall  in  a rapid  hand  the  words : “The  scribe  Amen- 
mose came  to  see  the  temple  of  Khufu,  and  found  it 
like  the  heavens,  when  the  sun  rises  therein.”  Because 
the  name  of  Khufu  incidentally  occurs  here,  he  mis- 
took it  for  the  tomb  of  Khufu,  the  builder  of  the  great 
pyramid,  of  whom,  of  course,  as  a monarch  already 
belonging  to  ancient  history,  he  had  little  knowledge ; 
just  as  an  unlettered  German  of  to-day  might  know 
very  little  of  his  great  ancestor,  Frederick  Barbarossa. 
For  Amenmose  the  scribe  was  as  far  in  years  from 
Khufu  and  his  empire,  as  a modem  Italian  is  from  the 
Roman  emperor  Augustus. 

But  who  was  the  man  who  slept  in  this  tomb  ? Here 
are  his  name  and  pompous  titles  written  all  around 


PosltiQn  40.  Map  3, 


180  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  door.  He  was  Khnumhotep,  who  lived  in  the 
20th  century  before  Christ.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
powerful  lords  of  his  class ; one  of  those  feudal  barons 
of  the  12th  Dynasty,  whom  the  Pharaoh  was  forced 
to  conciliate  (page  26).  They  were  lords  of  a town 
and  domain  which  lay  at  the  foot  of  these  cliffs,  but 
such  was  their  favor  that  the  Pharaoh  often  united 
with  their  domain,  also  that  of  another  district  or 
nome,  opposite  this,  on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
They  built  their  own  temple  in  this  town,  they  placed 
their  own  statues  there,  they  mustered  their  own  troops, 
but  placed  them  at  the  Pharaoh’s  service  when  neces- 
sary ; they  dated  events  by  the  years  of  their  own 
reigns,  as  well  as  those  of  the  Pharaoh ; in  short,  they 
were  miniature  kings,  but  under  the  Pharaoh’s  more 
or  less  immediate  control.  Here  in  this  cliff  they 
hewed  out  their  tombs,  generation  after  generation  of 
them,  and  on  the  chapel  walls  they  depicted,  in  beau- 
tiful painted  reliefs,  the  scenes  and  occupations  among 
which  they  moved  upon  their  great  estates.  We  know 
how  they  hunted,  how  they  dressed,  how  they  worked 
and  how  they  played,  how  they  fought  and  how  they 
worshiped,  and  it  is  all  on  the  walls  of  the  chapel,  to 
which  this  door  gives  access.  Among  the  scenes  in 
this  chapel  is  one  depicting  an  incident  of  which 
Khnumhotep  was  evidently  very  proud.  It  shows  him 
receiving  a company  of  thirty-seven  Semitic  Asiatics, 
countrymen  of  Abraham,  who  likewise  must  have  lived 
at  about  this  time.  They  are  led  by  their  sheik,  whose 
name  is  Absha,  a name  which  occurs  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment in  the  form  “Abishai,”  which  means  father  of 
a gift,  so  that  these  people  evidently  spoke  a dialect 
closely  akin  to  Hebrew.  They  came  to  Khnumhotep, 


Position  40.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


181 


SO  the  accompanying  inscription  states,  to  bring  eye- 
cosmetic,  one  of  the  products  of  the  farther  east  of 
which  the  Egyptians  were  very  fond,  but  were  obliged 
to  obtain  by  trade.  Below  these  scenes  which  cover  the 
four  walls  Khnumhotep  has  placed  a long  biography 
of  himself  showing  how  bis  line  had  been  favored  by 
the  kings  of  the  ruling  dynasty  from  its  beginning  on 
to  the  time  of  his  own  sons,  then  grown  men.  It  is 
evident  that  this  Benihasan  family  was  a source  of 
strength  to  the  12th  Dynasty,  and  that  its  kings  re- 
warded the  family  accordingly.  But  we  cannot  trace 
them  back  of  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

We  are  now  to  visit  Assiut,  where  we  shall  find  a 
similar  family,  but  of  still  earlier  date.  You  will  locate 
Assiut  on  Map  3,  about  seventy  miles  south  of  Beni- 
hasan, but  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Nile.  Our  first 
position  there  is  shown  by  the  red  lines  numbered  41. 
We  are  to  stand,  you  see,  with  our  backs  to  the  modem 
town  and  the  river  and  look  southwest  to  the  cliffs. 

Position  4:1,  Cliff  tombs  of  the  lords  of  Assiut — 
the  king-makers  of  4,000  years  ago 

We  are  now  235  miles  from  Cairo,  and  68  miles 
from  Benihasan,  where  we  last  stopped.  Before  us 
rise  the  cliffs  of  the  Nile  canon  here  at  Assiut.  We 
shall  presently  climb  those  cliffs  and  look  down  upon 
the  city  now  behind  us,  the  largest  city  of  present-day 
Upper  Egypt.  We  are  looking  westward ; behind  yon- 
der desolate  bluffs  lies  the  Sahara,  the  sands  of  which 
have  drifted  down  the  face  of  the  rocks  and  closed 
many  a tomb  door.  On  our  right  is  Cairo,  on  our  left 
is  Thebes,  while  behind  us  are  the  river  and  the  eastern 


Positions  40,  41.  Map  3. 


182  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

canon-wall,  which  we  are  yet  to  see  from  yonder  sum- 
mit. Boldly  defined  against  the  distant  cliff  is  the  tomb 
of  a modern  sheik  in  the  foreground,  and  its  outlines 
conceal  some  of  the  cliff-tombs  of  his  ancient  ancestors. 
But  it  is  those  distant  tombs  that  chiefly  interest  us 
now.  Tliere  the}'’  rise  in  five  tiers,  the  second  and  the 
fourth  from  the  base  being  almost  entirely  covered 
by  sand.  The  family  of  nobles  who  made  these  cliff- 
sepulchers,  first  emerge  upon  history  in  that  dark  and 
obscure  period,  when  the  pyramid  builders  of  the  Old 
Kingdom  had  passed  away,  and  the  country  was  a 
prey  of  the  barons  of  just  such  cities  as  Assiut,  each 
one  seeking  to  gain  the  throne  against  his  fellows.  When 
another  noble  family  at  Heracleopolis,  just  south  of  the 
Fa}mm,  known  to  us  as  the  9th  and  10th  Dynasties, 
assumed  the  coveted  honor,  the  lords  of  Assiut  sup- 
ported their  claims.  They  tell  with  great  pride  on 
the  walls  of  those  tombs  yonder  how  they  gathered 
their  forces  and  fought  the  nomes  and  districts  of  the 
south  in  defense  of  their  king.  They  defeated  the 
southerners  both  in  fleets  on  the  Nile,  the  earliest  naval 
battles  of  which  we  know,  and  on  both  shores  of  the 
river  in  succession ; and  although  they  do  not  men- 
tion their 'enemies  by  name,  they  show  clearly  that  it 
is  Thebes  which  they  are  fighting.  Thus  about  2200 
B.  C.,  or  possibly  a little  later,  Thebes  appears  for  the 
first  time  upon  our  historical  horizon.  Let  us  remem- 
ber, then,  that  these  Assiut  tombs  mark  for  us  the  rise 
of  Thebes.  "VlTien  the  earlier  chapels  up  there  in  the 
face  of  the  cliff  were  hewn,  Thebes  was  but  an  obscure 
little  town  of  the  upper  river,  but  from  now  on  we 
shall  constantly  hear  of  her  and  her  splendid  Pharaohs. 

When  the  support  of  these  Assiut  barons  was  no 
longer  sufficient,  the  11th  Dynasty  of  Theban  nobles 


Position  41.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


183 


triumphed,  and  paved  the  way  for  the  accession  of  the 
12th  Dynasty,  who  were  also  of  Theban  origin,  but  as 
we  have  noted,  lived  down  the  river  175  miles  from 
here,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Fayum,  where  we  found 
the  pyramid  of  Hawara  and  the  labyrinth  (page  163). 
Of  course,  the  12th  Dynasty  Pharaohs  replaced  these 
Assiut  barons,  who  had  fought  for  the  house  of  Hera- 
cleopolis,  by  a family  friendly  to  their  own  dynasty. 

One  of  the  largest  tombs  which  you  see  up  there  be- 
longs to  a powerful  lord  of  this  new  family  under  the 
12th  Dynasty,  named  Hepzefi.  His  tomb  is  of  espe- 
cial interest,  because  he  recorded  upon  the  walls  of 
the  chapel,  certain  contracts  which  he  had  made  with 
the  priesthoods  of  the  two  temples  in  the  town  behind 
us,  by  virtue  of  which  they  were  to  furnish  his  tomb 
and  his  statue  in  the  temple,  with  certain  supplies, 
bread,  meat,  wicks  for  illuminations  at  feasts,  and  the 
like,  in  perpetuity  after  his  death.  He  diverted  to 
them  certain  revenues  due  him  as  lord  of  the  district, 
in  payment  for  these  things.  So  fine  is  the  legal  sense 
shown  in  these  contracts,  that  we  find  Hepzefi,  as 
baron,  making  a contract  with  himself,  as  priest,  in 
which  Hepzefi,  the  baron,  conveys  certain  property  to 
Hepzefi,  the  priest.  Little  did  he  dream  of  the  time 
when  these  contracts  should  serve  as  almost  our  only 
source  for  any  knowledge  of  the  legal  usages  of  his 
age,  nor  of  the  day  when  his  descendants,  on  the  very 
ground  from  which  he  derived  these  ancient  revenues, 
should  raise  beans  and  lentils,  as  you  see  yonder  native 
doing  here,  with  no  knowledge  of  their  ancient  an- 
cestor, his  contracts,  or  even  of  the  language  in  which 
they  are  framed.  He  would  have  been  equally  sur- 
prised had  he  known  that  the  tombs,  which  he  and 


Position  41.  Map  3. 


184  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

his  family  had  hewn  out  here,  should  be  used  as  dwell- 
ings by  the  hermit  devotees  of  a new  religion  still  to 
be  born  in  Palestine,  of  whom  the  first  forefather, 
Abraham,  was  then  living  in  Hepzefi’s  day.  But  such 
was  finally  their  fate;  they  were  so  used  for  centuries 
by  the  Christian  ascetics  of  the  vicinity,  who  were  here 
as  elsewhere  in  Egypt,  incredibly  numerous.  Of  these 
anchorites  some  became  famous,  among  whom  the 
most  widely  known  was  John  of  Lycopolis  (“wolf- 
town”),  as  the  Greeks  called  this  town  of  the  jackal, 
which  was  the  sacred  animal  of  Assiut. 

As  we  have  said,  we  are  now  to  ascend  the  cliffs 
before  us,  then  turn  around  and  look  northeast  over 
the  modern  city  and  the  valley.  On  Map  3 note  the 
red  lines  numbered  42,  which  show  what  is  to  be  the 
direction  and  field  of  our  vision. 

Position  42.  Assiut,  the  largest  city  of  Upper 
Egypt,  seen  from  the  cliffs  at  the  west 

The  tombs  in  the  cliff,  which  we  saw  from  our  pre- 
vious station,  are  now  behind  us,  as  we  look  off  over 
the  town.  Beyond  the  town  is  the  regular  white  band 
that  marks  the  river,  and  the  fine  white  line  between 
the  town  and  the  river,  at  an  oblique  angle  with  the 
latter,  is  the  road  from  the  river  harbor  to  the  town, 
a distance  of  some  three-quarters  of  a mile.  Beyond 
the  river  you  see  the  valley,  spreading  eastward  to 
the  distant  eastern  cliffs,  which  show  in  dim  gray 
upon  the  horizon.  Behind  them  is  the  rocky  waste  of 
the  Arabian  desert,  which  rises  to  a range  of  granite 
mountains  and  then  drops  to  the  Red  Sea.  It  is  but 
the  continuation  of  the  great  Sahara,  which  lies  be- 
hind us.  Just  at  this  point,  the  valley  spread 


Posltioas  41,  42.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  185 

out  before  us,  which  the  river  has  cut  through 
the  desert,  is  only  some  ten  miles  wide.  Between 
us  and  the  town  are  the  fields,  from  which  the 
inundation  has  just  retreated,  and  you  observe  the 
black  Abyssinian  soil,  which  it  has  deposited.  This 
valley  before  us  was  once  a bare  trench,  floored  with 
naked  rocks,  and  walled  in  by  the  cliffs  on  which  we 
stand.  As  the  centuries  passed  the  river  gradually 
covered  the  rock  floor  with  mud,  until  now  the  soil 
deposit  is  here  from  33  to  38  feet  deep,  while  in  the 
Delta,  which  was  once  a bay  of  the  sea,  it  is  50  feet 
and  more  in  depth.  On  the  average  it  is  perhaps 
less  than  30  feet  deep,  so  it  has  required  over  eight 
thousand  years  to  enable  the  river  to  lay  down  a,  de- 
posit of  such  a depth,  for  it  rises  on  the  average  only 
about  four  inches  in  a century.  All  those  arts,  the  de- 
velopment of  which  we  have  seen  so  strikingly  illus- 
trated, for  example,  in  the  pyramids,  the  organiza- 
tion of  men  into  society  and  under  ordered  govern- 
ment— all  this  grew  up  in  this  valley  since  yonder 
stratum  of  soil  was  deposited,  and  could  not  have  made 
any  considerable  progress  until  the  soil  was  deep 
enough  to  support  vegetation  over  an  extended  area. 
The  irrigation  of  these  lands  in  modern  times  is  much 
assisted  by  a great  dam,  just  completed  by  the  English 
at  this  point.  It  contains  no  less  than  sixty  arches, 
with  a sluice  at  each  end  of  the  whole,  and  the  coun- 
try between  here  and  the  Fayum  greatly  profits  from 
the  water  thus  stored.  The  canal  flowing  at  our  feet 
is  one  of  the  important  irrigation  canals  of  Egypt, 
called  the  Sohagiyeh,  because  it  comes  out  of  the  river 
above  here  at  the  town  of  Sohag.  The  road  which 
crosses  it  from  the  town  is  the  ancient  road,  which  has 
always  led  thence  to  the  cemetery  where  we  are. 


Position  42.  Map  3. 


186  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

From  the  23rd  century  B.  C.,  at  least,  the  dead  of 
Assiut  have  been  borne  along  that  road  to  be  interred 
in  or  near  these  cliffs.  The  modern  cemetery  is  on 
our  left,  just  around  a bend  in  the  cliffs.  The  ancient 
town  of  the  nobles,  who  hewed  these  tombs,  among 
which  we  stand,  lies  fathoms  deep,  buried  under  the 
accumulations  of  thousands  of  years  beneath  the  busy 
modern  town.  The  lands  about  the  town  are  owned 
by  men,  whose  abstracts  of  title  do  not  reach  back 
to  the  lords  of  this  district,  who  four  thousand  years 
ago  left  legally  valid  contracts  assuring  to  their  tombs 
after  death  the  use  of  a certain  portion  of  the  income 
of  these  lands. 

The  ancient  Egyptian  lords  and  the  peasantry,  who 
in  those  remote  days  here  fought  and  toiled  for  the 
princes  of  Heracleopolis,  are  long  forgotten.  In  place 
of  their  massive  temples,  now  rise  the  slender  minarets 
of  the  Moslem  mosque,  brought  into  the  land  by  those 
desert  tribes,  which  these  ancient  princes  despised  as 
barbarians ; and  where  the  chateaus  of  the  lords  who 
lived  here  in  Abraham’s  day  once  nestled  under  the 
palms,  are  the  busy  markets  and  teeming  bazaars  of 
the  modern  town.  All  that  the  native  still  preserves 
of  what  was  once  here,  is  the  name  which  he  applies 
to  the  town.  “Assiut,”  or  “Siut,”  as  it  is  also  called,  is 
but  the  slightly  changed  form  of  the  ancient  name  of 
the  town,  which  you  will  find  in  these  tombs  behind  us, 
as  “Siyowt”  in  hieroglyphs  four  thousand  years  old. 
It  is  a modern  city  of  over  42,000  inhabitants,  with  a 
number  of  important  industries,  especially  the  manu- 
facture of  a fine  red  pottery.  The  tourists  from  Cook’s 
steamers  are  quite  willing  to  expose  themselves  to  the 
blazing  sun  and  to  walk  up  that  long  road  from  the 


Position  42»  Map 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


187 


harbor,  to  which  I have  already  called  your  atten- 
tion, in  order  to  buy  a few  specimens  of  this  beautiful 
ware  in  the  interesting  bazaars.  On  market  days,  this 
road  at  our  feet,  and  all  the  others  converging  in  the 
town,  are  alive  with  natives,  going  up  to  the  town  to 
dispose  of  their  produce  in  its  markets ; and  like  the 
same  scene  in  other  lands  it  is  one  of  the  most  pictur- 
esque and  interesting  to  be  met  with  on  the  Nile.  You 
will  discover  a group  of  such  people  just  beyond  the 
bridge,  but  if  we  could  see  this  road  on  Saturday, 
you  would  be  reminded  of  a trail  of  ants. 

But  now  we  must  leave  this  fine  landscape  and  visit 
our  first  upper  Egyptian  temple.  This  we  shall  find  at 
Abydos,  about  one  hundred  miles  above  or  southeast 
of  Assiut,  on  the  same  side  of  the  river.  See  Map  3. 
The  temple  at  Abydos  was  built  facing  the  river,  that 
is,  facing  northeastward,  and  we  are  to  look  south- 
westward  across  the  front.  Turn  to  Plan  7,  note  the 
points  of  the  compass  as  indicated  upon  it,  and  get 
clearly  in  mind  the  relation  of  the  temple  to  the  river. 
This  is  best  done  by  turning  the  plan  so  that  its  north 
corresponds  to  north  on  the  general  Map  3.  The  red 
lines  numbered  43  show  precisely  what  portion  of  the 
temple  we  are  to  see  first. 

i 

Position  43.  The  Temple  of  Sethos  I— view  south- 
west to  its  dismantled  front — Abydos 

As  we  are  looking  southwestward  here,  the  river  is 
on  our  right.  Cairo  is  about  335  miles  away  on  the 
same  side  (Map  3)  and  Thebes  is  less  than  a hundred 
miles  distant  on  our  left,  if  we  measure  around  the  great 
bend  in  the  Nile,  which  we  are  now  fast  approaching  in 
our  ascent  of  the  river.  Now  if  you  have  clearly  in 


Positions  42,  43.  Map  3.  Plan  7. 


188  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

mind  where  you  are,  I will  answer  that  question, 
Why  should  this  temple  have  been  built  out  here  in 
this  desert  waste?  We  are  standing,  to  be  sure,  as  we 
stood  at  Gizeh,  on  the  margin  of  the  desert,  but  there 
was  an  ancient  town  in  this  valley  behind  us,  though 
it  was  of  no  political  importance  and  would  never 
have  been  the  reason  for  the  erection  of  such  a temple 
as  this.  The  priests  of  the  modest  prehistoric  sanc- 
tuary of  this  place,  early  affirmed  that  Osiris,  the  god 
of  the  dead  and  great  protector  of  every  soul  in  the 
hereafter  was  buried  here,  and  already  at  a remote 
date,  tlie  ground  on  which  you  stand  was  the  holiest 
spot  in  Egypt,  as  the  burial  place  of  Osiris.  It  was 
indeed  the  “holy  sepulcher”  of  Egypt.  Every  great 
man  desired  to  be  buried  here,  or,  if  that  were  impos- 
sible, he  erected  a tablet  on  the  wall  of  the  ancient 
Osiris  temple,  the  ruins  of  which  are  just  out  of  range 
on  our  right.  On  this  tablet  he  recorded  his  name 
and  titles  and  a prayer  to  Osiris  for  protection  and 
maintenance  in  the  hereafter.  Officials  of  the  court 
and  government  took  advantage  of  every  official 
journey  that  brought  them  to  or  past  Abydos,  to 
stop  and  erect  here  such  a tablet  for  themselves  or  the 
deceased  members  of  their  families ; for  it  was 
thought  that  Osiris  was  sure  to  give  attention  to  these 
petitions  erected  in  the  vicinity  of  his  tomb.  Thus  a 
certain  official  under  Sesostris  III,  about  1900  years 
before  Christ,  whose  name  was  Sisatet,  says  on 
his  tablet  erected  not  far  from  where  we  stand : 
“I  came  to  Abydos  together  with  the  chief  treasurer, 
Ikhernofret,  to  carve  a statue  of  Osiris,  when  the  King 
of  Egypt,  Sesostris  III,  journeyed  to  overthrow  Kush 
(Ethiopia),  in  the  year  19.”  This  tablet  is  now  in 
Geneva,  Switzerland.  Now,  it  is  hardly  possible  that 


Position  43.  Map  3.  Plan  7. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


189 


the  chief  treasurer,  Ikernofret,  mentioned  by  Sisatet, 
should  have  visited  Abydos  without  leaving  some  rec- 
ord of  his  visit,  and  sure  enough  an  examination  dis- 
closes his  tablet  also,  now  reposing  in  the  Berlin 
IMuseum ; and  upon  it  Sisatet  is  also  referred  to.  The 
two  had  stopped  here  to  make  a statue  of  Osiris  by 
command  of  the  king,  as  he  passed  here  on  his  way 
southward  to  invade  Ethiopia  in  the  nineteenth  year 
of  his  reign.  This  is  the  only  record  wfe  possess  of 
such  a campaign  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  this  king, 
and  you  will  thus  see  how  important  for  Egyptian  his- 
tory these  memorial  tablets  are,  especially  as  in  course 
of  centuries  they  gradually  increased  in  number,  until 
they  crowded  the  temple  enclosure  just  north  of  us  here, 
in  hundreds  upon  hundreds.  They  were  taken  away  by 
Mariette  and  most  of  them  now  rest  in  the  museum  at 
Cairo. 

The  temple  before  us  carries  us  into  the  great  Theban 
period,  to  which  the  tombs  at  Assiut  introduced  us. 
It  was  built  by  Sethos  I,  the  first  great  king  of  the  19th 
Dynasty,  who  ruled  in  the  14th  century  B.  C. 
We  have  seen  his  face  in  the  flesh  in  the  museum  at 
Cairo,  and  we  remember  from  our  study  of  his  his- 
tory, his  war  in  Syria.  The  architecture  of  this  tem- 
ple is  not  as  imposing  as  that  which  we  shall  find  at 
Thebes,  but  it  is  justly  noted  for  the  exquisite  reliefs 
which  it  contains,  and  these  we  shall  later  view.  This 
is  not  the  front  of  the  temple  which  we  have  before 
us,  but  merely  the  dismantled  and  altered  back  wall 
of  the  second  court  of  the  temple  (see  Plan  7).  You 
see  at  each  end  of  the  row  of  pillars  the  side  walls  of 
this  second  court;  its  front  wall,  which  would  be  out 
of  range  on  our  right,  has  disappeared,  as  well  as  the 
entire  first  court  and  its  front,  which  once  formed  the 


Position  43.  Map  3.  Plan  7. 


190  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

real  faqade  of  the  temple.  Hence  we  must  not  judge 
of  the  architecture  of  the  building  from  this  rear  wall 
of  the  second  court.  When  you  have  seen  the  temples 
of  Medinet  Habu  (Position  77)  and  Edfu  (Position 
82),  you  will  know  what  was  the  character  of  the  lost 
facade  of  the  temple  before  us ; sO'  that  we  shall  not 
spend  any  time  upon  this  point  now.  Behind  that  row 
of  pillars  are  seven  doors  which  once  formed  the  en- 
trances to  seven  aisles,  leading  through  the  temple 
to  seven  shrines,  of  which  the  middle  one  was  sacred 
to  Amon,  the  great  god  of  Egypt  in  Sethos  Ps  time,  and 
the  other  six  to  Osiris,  the  deified  king  himself,  and 
the  other  great  gods  of  Egypt.  It  is  therefore  a kind  of 
pantheon,  and  as  such,  the  names  of  all  the  nomes,  or 
old  baronial  divisions  of  Egypt,  are  engraved  in  order 
by  the  doors.  Thus  all  Egypt  is  here  recorded  as  par- 
ticipating in  the  service  of  her  great  gods. 

The  temple  had  also  another  function  as  a shrine  of 
the  earliest  Pharaohs,  in  which  their  worship  was  prac- 
ticed ; but  of  this  last  particular  we  shall  have  more  to 
say  when  we  have  entered  the  building.  Sethos  never 
lived  to  see  his  temple  finished,  but  on  that  wall  facing 
us,  behind  the  pillars,  is  a long  inscription  of  his  son, 
Ramses  II,  in  which  he  narrates  how  he  found  the 
temple  unfinished,  with  its  columns  lying  on  the 
ground  and  the  blocks  intended  for  the  walls,  pros- 
trate in  the  filth ; while  the  temple  income  which  Sethos 
had  founded  for  the  support  of  the  temple  and  its 
service,  was  neglected  and  disregarded.  Ramses  tells 
how  he  completed  the  structure  and  restored  its  di- 
verted income ; and  one  of  the  things  which  he  did  was 
to  wall  up  five  of  the  seven  doors,  which  Sethos  had 
constructed  behind  the  pillars ; you  can  clearly  see  the 
masonry  filling  of  the  three  on  this  side  of  the  centre 


Position  43.  Map  3.  Pian  7. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


191 


as  we  now  stand.  Ramses  left  only  the  central  door 
and  the  furthest  one  of  the  three  on  the  other  side  of 
the  centre  (see  Plan  7).  His  long  inscription,  from 
which  we  have  given  some  few  of  the  facts  it  contains, 
was  then  engraved  upon  the  wall  thus  obtained.  It 
contains  no  less  than  116  lines. 

That  central  door  gives  access  to  a wide  colonnaded 
hall,  that  is,  a hall,  the  roof  of  which  is  supported 
upon  columns,  and  usually  called  a hypostyle  hall. 
The  roofing  blocks  which  rest  upon  the  columns  in  the 
first  hall  are  to  be  seen  from  here,  above  the  wall  be- 
hind the  pillars.  There  is  a second  hypostyle  hall  be- 
hind the  first ; and  in  this  second  hall  we  are  now  about 
to  stand.  Turn  to  the  plan  and  note  the  location  of  both 
of  these  halls  with  their  rows  of  pillars.  Then  find 
the  red  lines  numbered  44,  which  show  the  p>osition  we 
are  about  to  take  in  the  second  hall  and  the  direction 
in  which  we  are  to  be  looking. 

Position  44:.  Columns  of  the  great  Hypostyle 
Temple  of  Sethos  I at  Abydos 

For  the  first  time  we  stand  in  an  Egyptian  tem- 
ple ; yet  its  structure  is  not  of  the  usual  type,  and  you 
will  find  very  different  arrangements  when  you  visit 
the  Theban  sanctuaries.  We  are  now  standing  at  the 
left  (southeast)  side  of  the  second  hypostyle  hall,  and 
looking  northwestward  between  its  second  and  third 
rows  of  columns,  which  close  in  our  view  on  the  right 
and  left ; the  second  row  on  the  right,  the  third  row  on 
the  left.  Just  behind  the  third  row,  that  is,  on  our 
left,  are  the  seven  shrines  of  Amon,  Osiris,  the  king, 
and  the  great  gods  of  Egypt  ( see  Plan  7 ) . That  of  the 
king  is  directly  opposite  your  left  shoulder,  and  if  you 
raise  your  left  arm,  it  will  point  directly  into  the  king’s 


Positions  43,  44.  Map  3.  Plan  7. 


192  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

shrine,  only  ten  feet  distant.  You  are  therefore  look- 
ing across  the  seven  aisles  leading  to  the  seven  shrines, 
and  as  the  floor  before  the  shrines  is  higher  than  that 
of  the  hypostyle  hall,  you  observe  a series  of  inclined 
bridges,  leading  from  the  floor  of  the  hypostyle  to 
the  higher  level.  You  are  standing  on  the  bridge 
which  leads  to  the  king’s  shrine,  but  you  can  count 
the  six  others  with  the  exception  of  the  fifth 
next  to  the  other  end,  which  is  destroyed.  Eleven 
of  the  twelve  columns  in  the  row  to  our  left 
can  be  counted.  The  twelfth  in  the  row  to  our 
right  is  almost  within  our  reach.  Note  the  heavy 
architraves  above  us ; they  furnish  support  for  the 
roofing  blocks  that  cover  the  hall.  But  on  our  left 
the  roof  has  now  fallen  in  and  the  fragments  have  been 
removed.  Hence  you  see  how  the  sun  shines  in  from 
the  left  and  the  broad  shadows  of  the  columns  are 
thrown  obliquely  across  the  pavement.  It  is  upon  these 
columns  that  the  architraves  rest,  as  you  note  espe- 
cially at  the  other  end.  The  row  at  our  left  shows  a 
very  unusual  form,  each  column  being  a plain  cylinder, 
resting  upon  a circular  base,  and  surmounted  at  the 
top  by  a square  block,  without  any  trace  of  a capital. 
On  our  right,  however,  the  columns  are  of  a very  com- 
mon type,  modeled  on  the  bud  of  the  papyrus  plant. 
The  bud  forms  the  capital,  and  the  stem  of  the  plant 
is  the  shaft,  which  is  not  cylindrical,  but  shows  a 
marked  swelling  of  the  lines  as  it  rises,  like  the  entasis 
of  the  Greek  column.  But  we  can  study  this  column 
more  fully  when  we  arrive  at  Thebes,  where  it  is 
common. 

The  architect’s  method  of  erecting  these  col- 
umns is  very  interesting.  When  the  pavement  on 
which  we  stand  has  been  laid,  the  architect,  with  his 


Position  44.  Map  3.  Pian  7. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


193 


ground  plan  of  the  temple  in  his  hand,  transfers  that 
plan  in  the  full  scale  to  the  pavement,  drawing  the 
lines  which  show  where  the  bases  of  all  the  columns 
are  to  rest,  and  thus  covering  the  pavement  with  long 
rows  of  circles  in  red  paint.  These  circles  may  be 
found  still  clearly  visible  on  the  pavement,  where  a 
colonnade  has  been  destroyed.  Upon  the  circular 
base,  the  column  is  built  up  in  huge  drums  of  lime- 
stone, such  as  you  see  here  in  the  first  column  ‘ 
on  our  left.  The  architects  did  employ  columns  hewn 
from  a single  stone,  and  some  of  these  monolithic 
columns  of  granite  already  made  in  the  Old  Kingdom, 
are  of  the  greatest  beauty.  But  in  building  these  great 
colonnades  of  the  Empire,  so  large  a number  of 
columns  were  required  that  they  could  not  be  turned 
out  fast  enough  to  supply  the  architect.  Hence  he 
began  to  build  them  up  in  this  way,  a method  which 
was  more  rapid. 

The  inscriptions  and  reliefs,  with  which  these  col- 
umns are  covered,  concern  the  king  and  the  gods. 
The  column  of  hieroglyphs  on  the  shaft  behind  tlie 
native  dragoman  reads : “Lord  of  the  two  lands,  Men- 
mare.  Son  of  Re,  emanation  of  all  the  gods.  Lord  of 
Diadems,  Sethos  (I)  Merneptah,”  which  is  Sethos’ 
double  name  and  the  titles  belonging  thereto.  On  the 
farther  columns  are  figures  of  the  gods  belonging  in 
the  particular  shrine,  to  which  the  respective  columns, 
or  the  aisles  they  enclose,  lead.  Yonder  tourist  seems 
rapt  in  an  endeavor  to  puzzle  out  those  ancient  records, 
but  like  most  tourists,  he  will  find  it  in  vain ; and  if  he 
turns  to  the  descendant  of  the  men  who  put  these  writ- 
ings on  the  columns,  as  the  tourist  frequently  does, 
he  will  either  be  imposed  upon  with  extravagant  non- 
sense or  receive  only  a shake  of  the  head. 


Position  44.  Map  3.  Plan  7* 


194  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

But  the  most  important  and  interesting  record  in 
this  temple  is  in  the  long,  narrow  hall  immediately 
behind  us  as  we  now  stand,  and  on  the  right-hand  wall 
as  we  turn  directly  about  and  face  in  the  opposite  di- 
rection. Turn  again  to  Plan  7 and  see  what  is  to  be 
our  next  position  as  we  study  this  record. 


Position  45.  Sethos  I and  his  son  Ramses  II 
worshiping  their  ancestors  in  Sethos’  great 
Temple,  Abydos 

We  are  now  standing  in  the  narrow  hall,  which 
opens  directly  behind  our  former  station.  This  hall  is 
part  of  a great  addition  to  the  temple  proper,  extend- 
ing southeastward  from  the  rear  of  the  main  building 
and  forming  the  short  leg  of  an  L (Plan  7).  Now, 
when  we  have  examined  the  wall  relief  before  us,  and 
noted  some  other  facts  in  connection  with  this  side 
building,  we  shall  find  that  it  had  a peculiar  character 
and  purpose  of  its  own.  This  relief  shows  us  the  tall 
figure  of  the  king,  Sethos  I (whom  we  have  seen  in  the 
flesh  at  Cairo),  as  he  stands  with  extended  arm,  holding 
in  the  other  hand  a censer,  in  which  we  see  the  flame 
of  the  burning  incense.  He  wears  the  royal  helmet 
with  the  curling  urseus  serpent,  the  symbol  of  the 
goddess  Buto,  the  Pharaoh’s  protectress,  on  its  front. 
A necklace  and  a short  kilt,  worn  over  a longer  trans- 
parent skirt,  with  a lion’s  tail  attached  behind,  com- 
plete his  costume.  His  son,  the  prince,  who  afterward 
became  Ramses  II,  stands  before  him,  reading  from 
a double  roll  of  papyrus,  which  he  holds  in  his  hands. 
The  heavily  plaited  side  lock  of  youth  falls  over  the 
right  ear,  but  he  wears  no  head  covering.  His  body 
is  clothed  in  a long  transparent  linen  garment,  which 
hangs  over  one  shoulder  and  drops  to  his  ankles. 


Position  45.  Map  3.  Pian  7. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


195 


What  are  these  two  doing  ? What  is  the  ceremonial  in 
which  they  seem  to  be  engaged  ? That  little  column  of 
hieroglyphs  before  Ramses  just  under  his  hands,  reads  : 
“Recitation  of  the  praises  by  the  king’s  son,  the  hered- 
itary prince,  the  first  born  of  his  body,  the  beloved, 
Ramses.”  Whose  praises  is  he  reciting?  In  the  ruled 
column  before  him  you  notice  a number  of  ovals. 
These  ovals,  frequently  called  cartouches,  contain 
kings’  names  wherever  you  see  them  on  the  monu- 
ments. Here  there  are  three  long  rows  of  them,  of 
which  the  top  one  is  out  of  our  range  of  vision ; the 
lowermost  one  contains  only  the  name  of  Sethos  1 over 
and  over  repeated ; but  the  upper  two  rows  contain  the 
names  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  before  his  time.  Includ- 
ing his  own  name,  there  are  seventy-six  kings  in  all ! 
Sethos  and  his  son  are  therefore  pronouncing  a sacrifi- 
cial ritual  for  the  benefit  of  their  great  predecessors  on 
the  throne.  This  list  which  they  intended  for  pious 
purposes  alone,  is  now  one  of  the  most  important  docu- 
ments known,  for  the  reconstruction  of  Egyptian  his- 
tory. It  begins  with  Menes,  the  first  king  of  the  1st 
Dynasty,  at  least  3400  years  B.C.,  and  ends  with  Sethos 
I,  in  the  14th  century  B.  C.  It  thus  covers  some  two 
thousand  years  of  history,  although  it  stops  at  a point 
over  three  thousand  years  behind  us.  Thus  you  see 
that  this  part  of  the  temple  was  added  to  the  main 
building  as  a kind  of  chapel  sacred  to  the  departed 
Pharaohs — a chapel  which  was  not  different  in  its 
function  and  purpose  from  those  chapels  which  you 
saw  in  front  of  the  pyramid  and  on  the  east  side  of 
the  mastabas.  They  were  intended  as  places  where 
the  dead  should  ever  receive  food  and  drink  and 
clothing,  and  all  that  they  needed  for  their  life  in  the 
hereafter.  Now  a line  of  inscription  over  this  list  of 


Position  45.  Map  3.  Plan  7. 


196 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


kings  before  us  states  that  Sethos  is  here  presenting  to 
his  great  ancestors  on  the  throne,  offerings  of  bread, 
beer,  oxen,  fowl,  incense,  ointment,  fine  linen,  clothing, 
wine  and  divine  offerings  from  his  temple  income. 

A chapel  with  a similar  intent  was  attached  to  the 
great  temple  of  Amon  at  Karnak,  and  the  three  walls 
bearing  a similar  list  of  ancient  kings,  to  whom  Thut- 
mosis  III  is  offering,  were  removed  to  Paris,  where 
they  now  are,  in  the  National  Library.  But  this  chapel, 
in  which  we  stand,  is  of  especial  propriety  at  this 
place,  for  behind  this  temple  in  the  desert  the  kings  of 
the  earliest  dynasties  were  buried,  and  behind  this 
temple  there  is  a pylon  or  faqade,  facing  their  tombs, 
and  a causeway  leading  out  to  them.  There  they  have 
lain  for  five  thousand  years ; and  two  thousand  years 
before  the  Christian  era,  the  tomb  of  one  of  them  was 
mistaken  for  the  tomb  of  Osiris,  so  that  pilgrimages 
and  offerings  were  made  to  it,  and  it  was  covered  with 
votive  jars. 

You  ought  now  to  give  a moment’s  thought,  beyond 
the  purpose  and  function  of  these  reliefs  which  have 
just  occupied  us,  to  their  artistic  excellence.  The  re- 
liefs in  this  temple  are  among  the  most  beautiful  in 
Egypt.  Some  of  them  are  unsurpassed  by  any  to  be 
found  elsewhere.  These  figures  before  us,  while  not 
the  best  in  the  temple,  are  still  beautiful  specimens  of 
Egyptian  relief,  as  such  sculpture  was  practiced  by 
the  court  sculptors  of  Sethos  I’s  time.  You  notice  how 
they  place  a front  view  of  the  shoulders  upon  a side 
view  of  the  trunk  and  lower  limbs,  producing  that  ap- 
pearance of  disproportionately  broad  shoulders,  which 
so  strikes  the  visitor  on  his  first  acquaintance  with 
Egyptian  reliefs.  The  faces  have  been  much  muti- 
lated ; also  the  feet  of  Ramses,  but  you  can  plainly  see 


Po5ition  45.  Map  3.  Plan  7. 


•-  ‘ EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  197 

the  beautiful  modeling  of  the  knees  as  the  sculptor 
brings  out  their  bony  formation.  The  hands  are  not 
very  well  done  from  our  point  of  view,  and  the  feet, 
while  often  beautifully  sculptured,  are  in  Sethos’  figure 
modeled  from  one  foot  in  both  cases,  giving  him  two 
left  feet!  But  we  are  dealing  with  an  art  which  has 
inherited  certain  conventionalities,  which  the  artists 
traditionally  respected  and  would  not  disregard,  al- 
though they  were  the  faults  of  a primitive  age  then 
long  since  past. 

From  Abydos  we  now  go  to  Denderah.  On  the 
general  Map  3 you  find  Denderah,  about  sixty-five 
miles  east  of  Abydos,  and  on  the  same  side  of  the 
river.  The  red  lines  numbered  46  show  that  we  are 
to  stand  with  our  backs  to  the  river  and  look  south. 

Position  46.  The  beautiful  Temple  of  Hatlior  at 
Denderah — view  south  over  the  remains  of  a 
vanished  city 

Standing  before  the  Denderah  temple  and  looking 
directly  southward,  we  have  Abydos  now  on  our  right ; 
Cairo  is  behind  us,  Thebes,  now  but  forty  miles  dis- 
tant, is  before  us,  while  on  our  left  is  the  Arabian 
desert.  We  are  stationed,  as  the  map  indicated,  with 
our  backs  to  the  river,  in  the  hollow  of  the  great  bend 
(see  Map  3),  after  passing  which  we  shall  find  the 
river  valley  lying  in  a generally  north  and  south  line, 
as  it  did  until  just  before  we  reached  Assiut.  Here 
before  us  is  one  of  the  three  best-preserved  temples 
in  Egypt;  the  other  two  are  the  Edfu  temple  and  the 
temple  of  Philae.  This  is,  for  Egypt,  a late  temple,  as 
we  shall  see,  but  it  is  none  the  less  beautiful.  Its  pure 
and  simple  lines  rise  with  a beauty  and  dignity  that  are 
felt  at  the  first  glance.  Let  us  inquire  as  to  the  age 


Positions  45,  46.  Map  3. 


198  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

of  the  building.  On  the  top  edge  of  the  cornice  which 
crowns  yonder  facade,  is  a Greek  inscription,  which 
reads : “On  behalf  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius  Caesar, 

the  young  Augustus,  son  of  the  divine  Augustus,  under 
the  Prefect  Aulus  Avillius  Flaccus,  the  governor 
Aulus  Fulvius  Crispus,  and  the  local  governor  Sara- 
pion,  son  of  Trychambos,  the  citizens  of  the  capital 
and  the  nome  dedicated  the  pronaos  to  the  great  god- 
dess Aphrodite  and  her  fellow  gods,  in  the  year  (num- 
ber lost)  ....  of  Tiberius  Caesar.”  The  part  of  the 
temple  which  we  see,  therefore,  was  built  under  the 
Roman  emperor,  Tiberius,  in  the  1st  century  A.  D., 
when  Egypt  was  a Roman  province.  It  is  therefore 
1,300  years  later  than  the  temple  of  Abydos,  which  we 
have  just  visited.  The  halls  lying  in  the  rear  were  the 
work  of  the  later  Ptolemies  just  before  Rome  acquired 
Egypt,  so  that  this  temple  marks  for  us  the  transition, 
from  Greek  to  Roman  domination  in  the  Nile  valley. 

But,  of  course,  there  was  here  a temple  to  the  great 
goddess,  Hathor,  patroness  of  love  and  joy,  whom  the 
Greeks  called  Aphrodite,  long  before  Greek  or  Roman 
ever  saw  the  sp>ot.  The  earliest  inscriptions  we  have 
refer  to  her ; her  temple  existed  here  in  the  Old  King- 
dom ; it  was  rebuilt  by  the  kings  of  the  Middle  King- 
dom, and  enriched  by  the  conquerors  of  the  Empire. 
The  building  before  us,  although  unfinished,  represents 
an  attempt  to  create  for  her  a larger  sanctuary  than  she 
had  enjoyed  before.  In  front  of  this  colonnaded  hall 
which  forms  its  present  fagade,  there  was  to  have  been 
an  open  court,  surrounded  by  a colonnade  or  portico 
such  as  we  shall  later  see  at  Thebes.  Whether  the 
means  failed  or  what  may  have  been  the  reason  for  its 
remaining  incomplete,  we  cannot  now  say.  We  cannot 
appreciate  its  beauty  fully  until  we  know  that  this  is 


Position  46.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


199 


not  the  surface  of  the  ground,  which  we  see  before  the 
temple.  These  heaps  and  mounds  are  the  rubbish 
which  was  once  part  of  a town.  The  sun-dried  brick 
walls  of  the  houses,  which  later  invaded  the  temple 
enclosure  clustering  around  the  very  walls  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, have  gradually  accumulated  as  dust  and  mud, 
as  generation  after  generation  of  such  houses  rose  on 
the  ruins  of  others,  which  had  tumbled  down,  burned 
or  been  destroyed  in  the  sack  of  war.  Gradually  such 
accumulations  rose  in  all  ancient  towns,  until  the  town 
no  longer  stood  upon  a plain,  but  upon  a mound, 
known  as  a “tell”  in  Arabic,  and  commonly  so  desig- 
nated in  many  geographical  names.  You  saw  such  a 
tell  at  the  city  of  Crocodilopvolis  in  the  Fayum,  and 
we  shall  find  more  or  less  of  such  rubbish  around 
every  Egyptian  temple.  It  is  this  rubbish  to  which 
we  have  already  referred  as  being  much  employed  by 
the  natives  as  fertilizer,  because  of  the  potash  and  am- 
moniacal  ingredients  which  it  contains.  As  the  natives 
call  it  “sebach,”  the  diggers  for  it  are  termed  “se- 
bachin.”  They  have  ruined  many  a site  for  excavation 
by  their  promiscuous  digging. 

But  to  return  to  our  temple — the  pavement  and 
the  base  of  the  walls  are  far  below  the  surface  of 
these  heaps,  and  hence  the  temple  should  appear  much 
higher — nearly  twice  as  high  as  it  now  seems.  The 
hall  in  front,  called  by  the  Greek*  dedication  a “pro- 
naos,”  contains  eighteen  of  those  peculiar  columns, 
as  you  may  plainly  see  by  looking  through  the  door. 
Each  column,  formerly  known  as  a “Hathor-column,” 
is  really  a gigantic  reproduction  of  a musical  instru- 
ment, known  as  a sistrum,  which  was  a kind  of  rattle 
used  by  the  women  in  religious  services  in  the  tem- 
ples. The  shaft  of  the  column  is  the  handle  sur- 


Position  46.  Map  3. 


200  EGYPT  THROUGPI  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

mounted  by  a decorative  head  of  the  goddess,  Hathor, 
above  which  is  a square  representation  of  a chapel, 
with  a door  in  front.  They  are,  therefore,  now  called 
“sistrum-columns,”  and  are  to  be  found  only  in  the 
temples  of  goddesses.  You  notice  that  the  roof  is 
much  lower  behind,  dropping  in  two  successive  stages, 
through  a hypostyle  to  a chapel,  and  then  to  the  holy  of 
holies  in  the  rear.  You  can  see  the  two  lion-heads  on 
the  outside  wall  of  the  second  hall,  which  serve  as 
spouts  for  leading  off  the  water  of  the  rare  rains, 
which  might  otherwise  streak  the  once  painted  reliefs. 
For  you  must  imagine  this  temple  as  painted  in  the 
gayest  colors.  The  reliefs  show  us  the  foreign  kings 
of  Egypt  engaged  in  the  ritual  of  the  temple  service. 
It  seems  strange  indeed  to  see  here  in  Egyptian  style 
and  costume  the  Roman  emperors  Augustus,  Tiberius, 
Caligula,  Claudius  and  Nero,  who  thus  assume  the 
functions  of  the  ancient  Pharaohs. 

In  the  side  and  rear  walls,  built  in  the  thickness  of 
the  wall,  are  long,  narrow  crypts,  intended  for  safe 
and  secret  storage  of  the  temple  furniture  of  value. 
These  crypts  are  twelve  in  number,  and  the  painting  of 
the  wall  reliefs  in  them  is  almost  as  fresh  as  when 
the  work  was  first  done.  The  massive  masonry  upon 
which  we  stand  belongs  to  an  accessory  chapel  usually 
called  a birth-house,  because  one  of  its  rooms  contains 
reliefs  depicting  the  birth  of  the  son  of  the  goddess 
and  her  consort,  Harsomtous.  This  son  was  wor- 
shiped in  this  chapel,  and  such  a birth-house  or  chapel 
was  commonly  attached  to  temples  of  this  period.  Be- 
hind its  projecting  wall  here  you  may  see  the  masonry 
wall  which  surrounds  the  enclosure  of  the  large 
temple. 


Position  46.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


201 


Now,  if  you  can  imagine  this  temple  clad  in  the 
brightest  hues,  surrounded  by  a lovely  garden,  in  place 
of  these  sombre  rubbish  heaps,  and  looking  out  from 
masses  of  verdure  and  waving  palms,  reflected  in  the 
bosom  of  the  sacred  lake,  you  may  gain  some  faint  im- 
pression of  the  beauty  of  Egyptian  architecture.  But 
you  do  not  find  here  the  element  of  size  which  will 
meet  us  so  often  at  Thebes,  the  temples  of  which 
greatly  surpass  this  one  in  that  respect. 

At  last  we  are  about  to  reach  the  goal  of  all  travelers, 
ancient  and  modern,  the  plain  of  Thebes.  Turn  to  our 
general  Map  3 again,  and  you  see  that  Thebes  was  situ- 
ated about  fifty  miles  south  of  Denderah,  and  on  both 
banks  of  the  Nile.  At  this  point  you  note  that  the 
river  flows  northeast.  Now  we  shcaild  turn  to  Map 
8,  which  gives  this  district  on  a much  larger  scale. 
Here  you  find  the  Nile  interrupted  by  several  islands 
on  its  way  northeast  toward  Denderah.  On  its  east 
bank,  in  the  lower  right-hand  portion  of  the  map,  are 
the  remains  of  the  Kamak  and  Luxor  temples,  but  the 
larger  portion  of  this  storied  plain  lies,  you  see,  on  the 
west  bank.  There  ruins  of  many  temples  are  scattered 
widely  over  the  plain  and  along  the  cliffs  which  border 
upon  it.  We  are  to  occupy  first  a point  of  vantage  on 
those  western  cliffs  from  which  we  can  get  a good 
general  view.  Find  the  number  47  in  a circle  in  the 
upper  left-hand  portion  of  Map  8 and  the  red  lines 
which  branch  southeast.  There  at  the  point  indicated 
by  the  apex  of  those  lines,  upon  the  crest  of  the  cliffs, 
we  are  to  take  our  stand  now  and  look  down  over  the 
plain  and  the  river. 


Position  46.  Maps  3,  8. 


202  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Position,  4:7.  Across  the  Plain  of  Thehes  and  past 
the  Memnon  statues,  {from  the  western  cliffs 
toward  Luxor 

Tliis  is  the  plain  of  Thebes.  Can  you  conceive  that 
out  there  on  those  vacant  levels  the  mighty  city 
stretched  its  vast  length  across  the  plain?  The  one- 
time mistress  of  the  world,  the  theme  of  Homer’s 
song,  the  wonder  and  the  admiration  of  all  the  nations, 
the  queen  of  the  Nile ; all  this  she  was,  and  more  than 
all  the  wealth  of  ancient  song  or  modern  rhetoric  ever 
can  convey.  And  yet  you  sweep  the  plain  with  search- 
ing eye  and  are  able  to  discern  only  here  and  there 
what  may  be  a mass  of  ruins  like  this  near  us  on  our 
left,  or  a group  of  palms  sheltering  some  little  village 
of  mud  huts,  and  dotting  the  plain  with  increasing 
frequency  as  the  eye  rises  to  the  horizon.  For  of  all  the 
glory  of  ancient  Thebes,  there  remain  only  such  deso- 
late ruins  as  this  one  which  you  have  noticed,  and 
over  the  ground  once  occupied  by  its  busy  streets  are 
now  scattered  the  villages  of  the  peasants,  whose  fore- 
fathers may  have  been  the  citizens  of  the  vanished 
metropolis ; and  yet  in  spite  of  this  fact  there  are  no 
buildings  ancient  or  modern  which  can  compare  in  size 
with  the  colossal  ruins  on  this  marvelous  plain.  As 
you  know,  we  are  standing  on  the  western  cliffs  and 
are  looking  southeast.  We  see  the  river  as  a light  gray 
band,  clearest  in  the  middle  of  our  outlook,  some  two 
miles  distant.  Its  course  is  obscured  for  us  in  our 
present  station  by  the  islands  which  nearly  fill  the 
channel  (Map  8),  and  merge  with  its  banks  in  the 
background.  See  how  the  noble  cliffs  sweep  away  from 
the  river  there  on  the  east  side.  We  shall  later  take 
up  our  position  down  there  and  look  up  at  these  western 


Position  47.  Maps  3,  8. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


203 


cliffs  upon  which  we  now  stand,  and  we  shall  then  see 
how  they  also  retreat  from  the  river  in  a wide  curve. 

All  the  beautiful  verdure-clad  valley  between  them  is 
the  site  of  ancient  Thebes.  It  was  a city  of  two  quar- 
ters, or  better,  it  was  two  cities,  a city  of  the  dead  on 
this  western  plain  and  a city  of  the  living  on  the  other, 
the  eastern  plain.  We  know  nothing  of  Tliebes  in  the 
Old  Kingdom,  when  the  pyramids  of  Gizeh  were  be- 
ing built,  but  the  tombs  of  the  local  barons  who  ruled 
here  as  the  Old  Kingdom  was  passing  away,  have  been 
found  within  half  an  hour’s  walk  of  this  point.  Then 
you  remember  how  we  saw  at  Assiut  the  cliff  tombs 
of  the  barons  there  who  fought  against  the  Theban 
nobles,  in  defense  of  the  Pharaohs  of  the  9th  and  10th 
Dynasties,  who  lived  at  Heracleopolis.  By  the  22nd 
century  B.  C.  these  Theban  barons  had  beaten  the 
Heracleopolitans  and  their  Assiut  defenders  and  set 
up  a new  dynasty  here,  the  11th,  which  was  then 
succeeded  by  the  12th,  likewise  of  Theban  birth, 
in  2000  B.  C.  But  the  Theban  Pharaohs  of  the 
12th  Dynasty,  unfortunately  for  Thebes,  did  not 
reside  here,  and  the  little  provincial  town,  which 
it  then  was,  gained  but  slightly  by  the  promi- 
nence of  its  lords.  Over  there  where  you  see  those 
white  buildings,  the  modem  hotels  of  Luxor,  on  the 
east  bank,  there  was  a small  town  called  Southern 
Opet,  while  just  out  of  range  on  the  left  was  another 
named  “Opet  of  the  Thrones.”  Each  had  its  modest 
temple,  the  nuclei  of  the  great  sanctuaries,  which  were 
later  to  rise  there.  Southern  Opet,  as  I have  intimated, 
is  now  Luxor,  and  its  neighbor  on  the  left,  “Opet  of 
the  Thrones,”  is  now  Karnak  (Map  8).  The  old  god 
of  the  place  was  Montu,  who  later  became  the  war  god 
of  Egypt;  but  there  was  another  local  god,  unknown 


Position  47.  Maps  3,  8. 


204  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

and  obscure  in  the  Old  Kingdom,  Amon,  who  now  ap- 
peared in  the  names  of  the  greatest  Pharaohs  of  the 
12th  Dynasty,  the  Amenemhets.  But  with  the  expul- 
sion of  the  Hyksos,  about  1580  B.  C,  it  was  again  a 
Theban  family  which  assumed  the  leading  role,  and  the 
city  which  once  stood  on  this  plain  below  us  rapidly 
rose  to  a splendor  and  magnificence  unknown  before 
in  the  history  of  any  city  in  this  ancient  land.  Laden 
with  the  spoils  of  Asia  and  Nubia,  the  conquerors  of 
the  18th  and  19th  Dynasties  returned  to  this  lovely 
cliff -encircled  plain,  to  adorn  it  with  the  mightiest  tem- 
ples that  have  ever  risen  by  human  hands.  Thus  it 
became  the  first  great  monumental  city  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  It  continued  to  be  embellished  by  further 
buildings  or  additions  to  the  old  ones  until  Roman 
times.  In  the  height  of  its  glory  its  fame  had  pene- 
trated to  the  remotest  peoples.  Homer  sang  of  it  in  the 
well-known  lines : 

“Not  all  proud  Thebes’  unrivalled  walls  contain, 

(The  world’s  great  empress  on  the  Egyptian  plain. 
That  spreads  her  conquests  o’er  a thousand  states. 
And  pours  her  heroes  through  a hundred  gates. 

Two  hundred  horsemen  and  two  hundred  cars 
From  each  wide  portal  issuing  to  the  wars)  ; 

Though  bribes  were  heaped  on  bribes,  in  number  more 
Than  dust  in  fields,  or  sands  along  the  shore ; 

Should  all  these  offers  for  my  friendship  call.” 

(Iliad  ix,  500-508.) 

Its  wealth  and  splendor  had  thus  become  proverbial. 
The  ancient  villages  of  Southern  Opet  and  “Opet  of  the 
Thrones”  had  long  since  been  joined  by  intervening 
buildings,  and  the  giant  city  had  spread  far  and  wide. 
It  must  then  have  been  a vast  metropolis  filling  all  this 


Position  47.  Maps  3,  8, 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


205 


plain  before  us  and  wide  stretches  now  out  of  our  range, 
of  vision  on  the  left,  on  both  sides  of  the  river. 

As  the  nation  declined  and  the  seat  of  power  passed 
to  the  Delta,  the  city  fell  into  decay.  It  was,  however, 
with  the  invasion  of  the  Assyrians  in  the  7th  century 
B.  C.  that  its  colossal 'temples  fell  a prey  to  fire  and 
sword  in  a destruction  so  appalling  that  it  reached 
the  ears  of  the  Hebrew  prophet  Nahum,  who  later 
addressed  Nineveh,  the  already  doomed  city  of 
the  Assyrians,  with  a warning  reminding  her  of 
the  fate  to  which  she  had  consigned  Thebes ; for  he 
says  to  her:  “Art  thou  better  than  No-Amon 
(Thebes),  that  was  situate  among  the  rivers,  that  had 
the  waters  round  about  her;  whose  rampart  was  the 
sea,  and  her  wall  was  of  the  sea?  Ethiopia  and  Egypt 
were  her  strength,  and  it  was  infinite ; Put  and  Libya 
were  thy  helpers.  Yet  was  she  carried  away,  and  she 
went  into  captivity : her  young  children  also  were 
dashed  in  pieces  at  the  top  of  all  the  streets : and  they 
cast  lots  for  her  honorable  men,  and  all  her  great  men 
were  bound  in  chains”  (Nahum  iii,  8-10).  The  proud 
city  was,  however,  not  annihilated,  and  headed  insur- 
rection after  insurrection,  until  in  resisting  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Roman  authority  under  Augustus,  the  city 
was  taken  by  the  Romans,  who  laid  it  utterly  waste 
(30-29  B.  C).  It  then  rapidly  degenerated  into  a 
mere  group  of  scattered  villages,  such  you  now  see 
sprinkled  over  the  plain.  Of  these,  the  village  of 
Luxor,  already  pointed  out  on  the  east  shore  at  the 
left,  is  the  largest,  having  about  11,000  inhabitants  ; but 
that  of  Karnak,  which  has  given  its  name  to  the  neigh- 
boring temple  of  Amon,  is  for  this  reason  the  better 
known. 


Position  47.  Maps  3,  8. 


206 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


In  visiting  the  ruins  of  this  place,  we  shall  go  first 
to  Luxor,  then  to  Karnak,  out  of  range  on  the  left ; we 
shall  then  return  to  this  western  shore  and  visit  the 
two  colossal  statues  of  Memnon,  which  you  see  out 
on  the  plain  on  our  extreme  right.  Leaving  these,  we 
shall  pass  to  the  temple  of  Ramses  II,  known  as  the 
Ramesseum,  which  we  have  had  in  clear  view  ever 
since  we  have  stood  on  these  western  cliffs,  down  yon- 
der on  the  left  of  the  acacia  grove,  where  the  culti- 
vated fields  merge  into  the  sand,  which  has  blown  over 
these  cliffs  into  the  valley  below.  Locate  the  right 
corner  of  the  tall  piece  of  wall  at  the  further  end  of 
this  temple,  for  we  shall  later  stand  there  and  look  up 
toward  our  present  standpoint  on  the  cliffs.  One  of 
the  tombs  in  this  very  cliff  will  then  be  visited,  after 
which  we  shall  proceed  to  the  temple  of  Der  el-Bahri, 
which  is  in  a bay  of  the  cliffs  on  our  left.  Having  then 
climbed  up  here  again,  to  reconsider  the  relation  of 
all  the  main  points  on  the  plain,  and  to  discuss  some 
details,  which  we  cannot  yet  take  up,  we  shall  turn 
sharp  about  and  look  with  backs  to  the  river,  into  the 
valley,  where  the  kings  of  the  great  Theban  period 
were  buried.  After  inspecting  one  of  these  tombs,  we 
shall  view  the  temple  of  Kurna,  then  return  along 
the  cliffs,  where  from  a point  on  our  right  here,  but 
now  out  of  range,  we  shall  look  down  upon  the  temple 
of  Medinet  Habu,  and  then  descend  to  visit  it.  Our 
itinerary  of  Thebes  will  terminate  at  that  point.  If 
you  will  trace  this  itinerary  on  the  maps  (Nos.  8 and 
9)  repeatedly  until  you  are  familiar  with  the  entire 
route,  it  will  greatly  help  you  to  enter  into  each  of 
the  situations,  as  you  approach  them,  one  after  another. 


Position  47.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


207 


Now  glance  again  across  the  plain  to  the  white 
hotels  of  modern  Luxor.  We  are  to  begin  with 
the  temple  beside  which  those  modern  buildings  have 
grown  up.  As  it  is  now  much  sunken  in  debris  and 
rubbish,  and  is  over  three  miles  distant  from  our  pres- 
ent eyrie  on  the  western  bluffs,  we  are  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish it.  This  next  position  is  given  on  two  maps. 
First  you  should  find  it  on  Map  8,  which  we  have  been 
using.  Find  Luxor  in  the  lower  margin  of  the  map, 
on  the  very  bank  of  the  river.  The  red  lines  there 
numbered  48  enclose  the  summary  black  outline  of  the 
temple  plan.  The  plan  of  this  temple  is  given  on  a 
larger  scale  on  Plan  10.  Find  there  also  the  red  lines 
numbered  48,  which  show  our  next  position,  and  what 
part  of  the  temple  we  are  to  see. 

Position  48.  Magnificent  desolation — the  deserted 
Temple  at  Luxor,  southwest  from  the  top  of 
the  first  p xjlon 

Silent  and  forsaken,  this  noble  sanctuary  of  the  Pha- 
raohs lies  before  us.  What  would  have  been  the 
thought  of  the  proud  conquerors  of  the  18th  Dynasty, 
could  they  have  foreseen  the  tower  of  this  Moslem 
sanctuary  rising  in  the  midst  of  the  temple  court,  mark- 
ing a shrine  of  that  faith  which  grew  up  among  those 
desert  barbarians,  whom  the  Pharaohs  despised ! The 
bright  Egyptian  sun  streams  through  the  colonnades 
and  throws  their  shadows  in  long,  black  rows  upon 
the  pavement ; but  no  worshiper  now  moves  down  the 
silent  aisles,  the  voice  of  the  chanting  priest,  the  cry 
of  the  singing  women,  are  heard  no  more,  and  the 
gyeat  god  who  once  sat  in  mysterious  power  in  yon- 
der secret  chamber  is  forgotten.  Of  all  the  natives  in 
the  town  about  us,  whose  forefathers  once  worshiped 


Position  48.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


208 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


in  this  place,  not  one  now  knows  the  name  of  the  di- 
vinity who  presided  here,  and  the  language  in  which 
his  praise  was  sung,  is  forever  forgotten  among  them. 

We  are  standing  at  the  front  of  the  temple,  on  the 
top  of  the  left-hand  tower  of  the  “pylon,”  as  the  two 
towers  are  called,  which  form  the  front  of  an  Egyptian 
temple  (Plan  10).  We  look  down  the  long  axis  whicli 
extends  from  the  front  to  the  rear,  dividing  the  struc- 
ture into  two  equal  parts.  We  are,  however,  on  the 
left  or  east  of  that  central  axis,  which  is  in  a north- 
east and  southwest  line.  We  are  looking  southwest- 
ward,  parallel,  or  nearly  so,  with  the  course  of  the 
river,  which  we  see  on  the  right,  flowing  toward  us 
from  the  southwest,  its  shore  distant  hardly  a stone’s 
throw.  Kamak  and  its  great  temple  are  behind  us, 
beyond  which  the  Nile  winds  on  to  Cairo,  while  before 
us  over  the  palms,  we  see  the  next  reach  of  the  river 
along  which  we  shall  pass  to  the  cataracts.  We  face 
so  squarely  up  the  Nile  canon,  that  we  can  see  neither 
of  its  walls,  and  thus  the  cliffs  on  the  west  side  where 
we  stood  looking  across  to  this  spot,  the  southern  ex- 
tension of  which  might  be  visible  if  we  were  to  turn 
slightly  to  the  right,  are  not  to  be  seen ; they  lie  out  of 
range  exactly  in  a line  with  your  right  shoulder. 
Among  the  palm  groves  out  yonder  on  the  shore  are 
the  towers  of  a villa  built  by  a European  consumptive, 
who  lives  here,  to  escape  the  vigor  of  the  northern 
winter,  which  drives  so  many  similar  sufferers  to  this 
land  of  genial  winters. 

Back  yonder  where  now  stand  those  beautiful  colon- 
nades (in  the  ‘rear  of  the  temple)  there  was  once  a 
small  sanctuary  of  the  Theban  Amon.  It  was  built 
by  the  Pharaohs  of  the  12th  Dynasty  in  all  probability ; 
but  in  the  height  of  the  power  of  the  18th  Dynasty, 


Position  48.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


209 


Amenophis  III  replaced  it  by  a more  pretentious  tem- 
ple than  any  which  his  ancestors  had  anywhere 
planned,  in  so  far  as  we  know.  On  the  very  spot 
where  the  modest  chapel  of  his  forefathers  stood,  he 
raised  yonder  colonnaded  hall,  the  columns  of  which 
you  see  massed  so  thickly  in  the  extreme  rear  of  the 
temple.  Before  it  he  laid  out  a court,  the  pavement  of 
which  you  observe  as  a bare  space  directly  before  the 
columns  of  the  hall.  This  court  he  then  surrounded 
by  a colonnade  on  three  sides,  right,  left  and  front,  the 
hall  forming  the  rear  side.  You  can  plainly  see  the 
columns  on  the  left  side  of  the  court  in  two  rows,  fall- 
ing almost  into  our  line  of  vision.  This  was  the  usual 
arrangement  of  an  Egyptian  temple,  viz. : First  a 

court  like  that  out  yonder,  followed  by  a colonnaded 
hall  or  hypostyle.  But  Amenophis  was  not  satisfied 
with  this.  He  planned  still  greater  things.  He  began 
another  hall  in  front,  or  this  side,  of  the  court,  the 
great  columns  you  see  to  our  right,  doubtless  intend- 
ing to  place  another  court  here  in  front  of  the  new  hall. 
Had  Amenophis  finished  his  great  project,  we  should, 
in  order  to  enter  the  temple,  have  had  to  pass  through 
a vast  court,  enclosing  the  place  where  we  now  stand, 
and  then  an  enormous  hall,  which  would  have  brought 
us  to  the  present  court  yonder.  But  death  over- 
took him  when  he  had  erected  no  more  than  those 
mighty  columns,  which  were  to  form  the  centre  aisle 
or  nave  of  his  vast  hall,  the  columns  you  see  just  here 
on  our  right,  divided  into  two  groups  by  the  white 
muezzin  tower  of  the  mosque. 

Amenophis’  son,  being  a hater  of  Amon,  made  no 
attempt  to  continue  his  father’s  temple  to  that  god,  and 
when  his  anti-Amon  movement  had  passed,  the  re- 
storers of  the  old  Amon  worship  had  not  the  means 


Position  48.  Maps  3,  8,  Plan  10. 


210  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

to  complete  the  proposed  great  hall,  the  largest  colon- 
nade ever  planned  by  a Pharaoh  up  to  that  time.  (We 
shall  find  a larger  one  at  Karnak.)  They  therefore 
enclosed  this  central  nave  with  side  walls,  which  have 
now  fallen  down  entirely,  with  the  exception  of  three 
or  four  bottom  courses,  thus  exposing  Amenophis 
Ill’s  giant  columns  to  view.  The  roof  wdiich  once 
rested  upon  them  has  also  fallen  in,  but  the  huge  archi- 
traves are  still  in  position.  Thus  at  the  close  of  the 
18th  Dynasty,  about  1400  B.  C.,  this  temple  presented 
a peculiar  appearance  indeed,  with  this  long,  narrow 
aisle  standing  in  isolation  as  a vestibule  leading  to  the 
court  beyond.  But  with  the  accession  of  the  19th 
Dynasty,  Ramses  II  built  a court  in  front  of  the  great 
aisle,  the  court  immediately  at  our  feet,  in  which  this 
modern  mosque  now  stands.  Before  this  court  he 
erected  a pylon,  or  pair  of  towers,  on  the  left  one  of 
which  we  now  stand ; while  in  front  of  the  pylon  he 
placed  a pair  of  obelisks,  one  of  which  is  just  behind 
us.  In  order  to  build  this  court,  Ramses  was  obliged 
to  destroy  a beautiful  little  chapel  of  the  18th  Dynasty 
which  stood  in  the  way,  and  the  bank  of  the  river  was 
so  near,  that  he  was  forced  to  give  his  building  a dis- 
tinct twist,  diverting  its  axis  eastward,  to  avoid  the 
river  (see  upper  part  of  Plan  10).  This  court  of  his 
was,  as  usual,  surrounded  by  a colonnade,  of  which 
you  observe  several  columns  down  there  by  the  head- 
less statue  of  the  king.  There  are  rows  of  these 
statues  all  around  the  rear  of  the  court,  between  the 
columns. 

Now  if  you  will  look  at  the  plan  (Plan  10)  of  the 
temple,  you  will  find  that  rear  hall  of  Amenophis 
III  marked  D,  his  court  C,  his  unfinished  hall  B; 


Position  48.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


211 


while  the  court  of  Ramses  II,  at  our  feet,  is  A.  Hold- 
ing this  plan  before  you,  turn  it  round  till  the  apex  of 
the  red  V (Position  48),  which  demarks  our  field  of 
vision  here,  points  toward  you,  and  compare  all  that 
we  have  pointed  out,  carefully  with  its  location  on  the 
ground. 

Do  you  see  where  the  ruin-strewn  ground  extends  to 
the  river  beyond  the  first  column  on  the  extreme  right? 
That  is  our  next  point  of  view.  We  shall  stand  there 
(Position  49)  and  look  directly  toward  our  present 
standpoint  and  see  the  copestones,  which  we  now  have 
beneath  our  feet,  with  the  outer  edges  just  extending 
into  view,  and  likewise  the  obelisk  now  behind  us. 

On  our  Plan  10  we  find  this  next  position  given  by 
the  number  49  in  the  left-hand  margin.  The  lines 
showing  the  direction  and  limits  of  our  vision  extend 
toward  the  northeast. 

Position  4:9,  The  Moslem  mosque  in  the  Court  of 
Ramses  II,  at  Luxor  Temple,  Thebes 

Now  we  are  down  again ! Do  you  see  the  top  of  the 
pylon  tower,  on  which  we  have  just  stood?  It  is  there 
on  the  right  of  the  obelisk,  which  we  so  often  mentioned 
as  being  then  behind  us.  That  tower  has  lost  its  cor- 
nice except  at  the  left  end;  its  fellow,  the  other  tower 
on  the  left,  is  better  preserved.  Such  a pair  of  towers, 
called  by  the  Greeks  a pylon,  usually  formed  the  en- 
trance of  an  Egyptian  temple,  the  great  portal  being  in 
the  middle  between  the  two  towers.  Part  of  the  in- 
terior is  hollow,  with  a staircase  leading  to  the  top. 
The  walls  are  built  with  an  inward  incline  as  you  see. 
Together  the  two  towers  form  the  front  of  the  court 
and  the  faqade  of  the  temple.  Notice  that  row  of  holes 
made  by  the  later  dwellers  in  this  court  long  after  it 


Positions  48,  49.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


212  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

had  ceased  to  be  used  as  a sanctuary,  that  they  might 
insert  the  ends  of  the  timbers,  supporting  the  roof  of 
their  house,  of  which  the  tower  formed  one  wall.  The 
other  walls  of  the  house  were  built  of  brick,  sun-dried, 
and  therefore  friable.  The  result  we  have  already 
noted  at  Denderah  (Position  46).  As  the  centuries 
passed  and  house  after  house  fell  to  ruins  out  there  in 
Ramses’s  ancient  court,  it  gradually  filled  with  rubbish 
and  crumbled  brick,  until  the  houses  of  to-day,  like  yon- 
der mosque,  stand  upon  an  accumulation  thirty  feet 
deep,  reaching  almost  to  the  capitals  of  the  columns. 

How  incongruous  it  appears  with  its  not  ungraceful 
little  tower,  where  the  muezzin  calls  five  times  every 
day  to  the  worship  of  Allah,  in  the  court  of  the  now 
forgotten  Amon ! And  all  the  efforts  of  the  archaeolo- 
gists have  not  yet  succeeded  in  dislodging  these  ob- 
stinate Moslems.  But  I am  not  sure  that  it  would  add 
to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  whole  if  this  Moslem 
shrine  were  banished.  Who  knows,  however,  what 
treasures  for  the  archaeologist  the  rubbish  under  it  may 
conceal ! It  covers  the  columns  on  that  side  of  the 
court,  corresponding  to  those  which  we  see  here  on  the 
left  side.  Among  these,  do  you  discern  one  quite  small 
column  with  a fluted  top?  That  belongs  to  the  chapel 
of  Thutmosis  III,  which  Ramses  II  destroyed  and  ap- 
propriated, in  order  to  build  his  court. 

On  the  right  are  the  superb  columns  of  Amenophis 
Ill’s  unfinished  hall,  and  you  can  now  see  the  lower 
courses  of  the  side  wall,  with  which  his  successors 
closed  it  in.  All  about  us  and  under  our  feet  is  the 
rubbish  of  fallen  houses,  in  which  the  ancestors  of 
these  natives  before  us  lived  but  a generation  or  two 
ago. 


Position  49.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


213 


We  now  have  the  river  on  onr  left  and  Karnak  before 
us  nearly  two  miles  beyond  that  pylon  (Map  8),  but 
we  shall  in  our  next  view  of  this  temple,  stand  at  a 
point  on  our  left  as  we  now  face,  and,  turning'  about, 
with  the  river  on  our  right,  look  directly  across  our 
present  line  of  vision,  into  the  court  of  Amenophis 
III.  On  our  Plan  10  we  find  this  next  position,  and  our 
field  of  vision  is  defined  by  the  red  lines  numbered  50, 
which  start  from  a point  in  the  left-hand  margin,  di- 
rectly above  our  standpoint  49. 

Position  50.  The  most  heautiful  colonnade  in 
Egypt— south  across  the  court  of  Amenophis 
III,  Luxor  Temple,  Thebes 

There  is  not  another  such  group  of  columns  as  these 
in  all  Egypt ! Look  at  those  fine  contours  as  the  shaft 
rises  to  the  beautiful  capital.  Each  column  is  a cluster 
of  papyrus  buds,  which  form  the  capital,  while  the 
stems  below  make  up  the  shaft.  The  individual  stems 
stand  out  clearly,  as  well  as  the  buds  in  the  capital,  with 
the  broad,  smooth  surface  below  it,  on  which  were 
painted  the  bands,  conceived  as  binding  the  cluster  to- 
gether. Imagine  such  a colonnade,  painted  with  all  the 
bright  hues  of  the  tropic  verdure  which  they  represent, 
all  aglow  with*  throbbing  color  under  a tropic  sky,  and 
framed  in  masses  of  nature’s  green,  as  the  tall  palms 
outside  the  court  bow  languidly  over  the  roof  of  the 
porticoes,  and  you  will  gain  some  faint  hint  of  the  real 
beauty  of  which  an  Egyptian  architect  was  master. 
On  our  left  are  the  giant  columns  of  the  unfinished 
hall.  These  represent  the  papyrus  flower,  its  open  bell 
forming  the  capital,  and  its  stem  the  shaft.  Such  col- 
umns, as  we  shall  later  often  observe,  were  regularly 
placed  on  either  side  of  the  central  aisle  of  such  a hall 


Positions  49,  50.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


214  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

as  Amenophis  III  here  planned.  The  side  aisles,  here 
wanting,  were  then  made  up  of  bud  columns,  not  so 
high  as  those  of  the  nave,  thus  producing  a clerestory, 
a basilica  roof,  the  forerunner  of  the  cathedral  archi- 
tecture of  Europe.  We  shall  better  understand  this 
form  when  we  have  seen  the  great  hall  at  Karnak 
(Position  58). 

The  river  is  on  our  right,  the  axis  of  the  temple  on 
our  left  (see  Plan  10  and  Map  8)  ; we  look  almost  due 
south  (with  our  backs  to  the  lower  river  and  Cairo) 
into  the  noble  court,  flanked  by  that  forest  of  columns 
in  its  rear.  Their  bases  are  all  dark  except  those  of 
one  row,  which  are  touched  by  the  afternoon  sun. 
These  stand  on  the  left  side  of  the  central  aisle  lead- 
ing back  through  that  hall  and  several  ante-chambers 
into  the  holy  of  holies ; and  down  that  aisle  the  august 
image  of  the  god  was  borne  on  those  rare  occasions 
when  he  came  forth  to  celebrate  some  great  feast.  Be- 
hind that  hall,  and  around  the  holy  of  holies  are 
grouped  a series  of  chambers  for  the  priests  and  the 
utensils  and  stores  necessary  for  the  temple  service. 
They  are  not  visible  from  here,  but  you  can  find  them 
on  the  plan.  The  great  altar  of  sacrifice  stood  in  the 
court  before  us  in  plain  view  of  all ; but  it  has  now 
perished,  and  in  place  of  the  gorgeous  procession  of  the 
god,  a native  leads  a buffalo  to  pasture  across  the 
sacred  precincts  of  the  ancient  sanctuary,  while  another, 
sitting  lazily  astride  a tiny  donkey  with  its  tinier  foal 
behind  it,  converses  with  a friend. 

We  return  now  to  the  front  of  the  temple,  to  a p>osi- 
tion  before  the  pylon  on  which  we  took  our  first 
position  here.  This  standpoint  is  given  on  the  upper 
part  of  Plan  10. 


Position  SO.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


215 


Position  51,  The  obelisk,  of  Ramses  II,  and  the 
front  of  the  I/uxor  Temjile  ( view  to  the  south- 
west), Thebes 

Again  we  have  the  pylon  of  the  temple  before  us. 
“But  it  is  so  surprisingly  low,”  you  object.  No,  only 
apparently  so;  we  are  standing  on  25  or  30  feet  of 
debris.  Look  at  that  colossus  on  the  right,  buried  to 
the  breast  in  rubbish.  If  we  were  standing  on  the  tem- 
ple pavement,  that  colossus  would  be  some  40  feet 
high.  You  may  look  through  between  the  pylon 
towers  and  see  the  architraves,  which  bore  the  roof  of 
the  portico  around  the  court,  and  the  capitals  of  the 
columns  which  support  them  are  almost  on  a level 
with  our  heads.  It  was  up  yonder  on  that  left-hand 
tower  that  we  stood  for  our  first  view  of  the  temple 
(Position  48).  We  are  now  facing  almost  exactly  as 
we  were  then,  but  the  pylon  now  rises  between  us  and 
the  temple  colonnades  beyond.  The  river  is  on  our 
right,  as  it  then  was,  and  Kamak  behind  us. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  these  unlovely  modern  brick 
structures  just  before  us  add  anything  to  the  impres- 
sion made  by  the  pylon,  of  which  they  obstruct  the 
view ; the  archaeologists,  who  would  be  more  than 
glad  to  remove  them  and  complete  the  excavation  of 
the  temple,  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  their  purpose ; 
and  these  natives,  whom  we  see  carrying  up  water  in 
the  old,  old  way,  not  being  at  all  concerned  for  the 
temple  of  their  forefathers,  are  at  the  same  time  very 
tenacious  of  their  rights  in  these  mud  brick  houses 
in  which  they  live.  The  excavator  has,  of  course,  no 
more  right  to  remove  these  dwellings  than  has  the  sur- 
veyor of  the  elevated  road  to  remove  your  house  at 
home,  in  order  to  make  way  for  his  road,  though  you 


Position  51.  Maps  3,  8.  Pian  10. 


216  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

are  vastly  more  interested  in  his  road,  than  are  these 
modern  Egyptians  in  the  excavations. 

We  are  now  near  enough  to  the  pylon  to  observe 
some  of  the  details  which  we  shall  also  see  elsewhere. 
Those  two  openings  near  the  top  of  the  left  tower  are 
not  windows,  as  you  might  suppose.  Look  below  the 
one  on  the  right,  at  the  bottom,  on  the  left  of  the  obe- 
lisk, exactly  in  a vertical  line  with  the  opening,  and 
you  notice  a sunken  panel  in  the  fa«e  of  the  pylon. 
In  this  panel  against  the  masonry  of  the  tower  was  set 
up  a tall  flagstaff.  It  passed  up  in  front  of  the  open- 
ing and  was  fastened  there  by  a large  metal  clamp 
which  projected  from  the  same.  This  was  the  purpose 
of  the  opening.  These  flagstaves,  of  which  there  were 
at  least  two  on  each  tower,  and  sometimes  four, 
towered  high  above  the  pylon  and  were  each  crowned 
by  a tuft  of  gaily  colored  pennants.  But  the  flagstaves 
were  not  the  only  adornment  of  the  pylon  towers. 
Notice  those  relief  sculptures  on  the  left-hand  tower. 
All  these  temples  of  the  Empire  are  great  his- 
torical volumes,  richly  illustrated,  in  which  the  con- 
querors, who  subdued  Nubia  and  Syria,  have  recorded 
their  achievements.  These  records  offer  not  merely 
the  inscriptional  narrative  of  the  Pharaoh’s  victories, 
but  also  vast  walls  filled  with  graphic  pictures  in  stone, 
depicting  the  various  incidents  of  the  battles,  sieges, 
marches  and  triumphs,  in  which  the  king  took  part. 
Thus  we  see  here  Ramses  II  charging  the  enemy  in 
his  chariot,  and  while  he  draws  his  mighty  bow,  he 
urges  his  plunging  horses  directly  into  the  hostile 
ranks.  He  is  alone,  or  at  most  accompanied  by  his 
guards  and  attendants,  having  been  cut  off  from  his 
army  by  a clever  maneuver  of  the  enemy;  and  it  is 


Position  51.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  217 

only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  he  maintains  him- 
self until  he  is  rescued  by  the  arrival  of  a portion  of 
his  forces.  He  was  so  proud  of  his  own  prowess  in 
this  battle,  which  took  place  at  Kadesh,  on  the  river 
Orontes  in  Syria,  that  he  had  it  thus  depicted  upon 
the  walls  of  a number  of  his  greater  temples;  and  one 
of  his  court  poets  wrote  a famous  composition  upon 
it,  which  is  considered  the  epic  of  ancient  Egypt. 

Besides  these  reliefs,  polored  in  the  brightest  hues, 
the  flagstaves,  with  their  brilliant  pennants,  and  a row 
of  massive  colossi,  of  which  we  can  see  but  one,  the 
front  of  such  a temple  is  adorned  with  two  obelisks, 
which  stand  a little  removed  from  the  pylons,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  entrance.  This  obelisk  before  us,  like 
the  temple  pylon,  was  erected  by  Ramses  II.  Its 
fellow,  which  should  stand  just  before  that  colossus 
on  the  right,  was  removed  to  Paris  in  1832-3,  where 
it  now  stands  in  the  Place  de  la  Concorde.  It  is  not 
so  high  as  this  one  before  us,  being  75  feet  in  height 
and  weighing  212  tons.  But  it  gave  the  French  engi- 
neers a task  worthy  of  their  skill.  As  this  one  has  not 
yet  been  excavated,  its  exact  height  is  not  known. 
The  inscriptions  in  three  columns  record  the  fulsome 
names  and  titles  of  Ramses  II,  and  the  dedication  of 
the  monument  by  him  to  Amon,  god  of  Thebes.  This 
last  is  in  the  middle  line,  and  reads  thus : “He  made 
it  as  his  monument  to  his  father,  Amon-Re,  erecting 
for  him  two  great  obelisks  of  granite.”  Being  of  pink 
granite,  it  was  brought  from  the  granite  quarries  of 
the  first  cataract  at  Assuan,  where  we  shall  later  see 
such  an  obelisk  still  attached  to  the  rock  of  the  quarry. 
It  is  not  as  large  as  the  obelisk  of  Queen  Hatshepsut, 
which  we  shall  visit  at  Kamak. 


Position  51.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  10. 


218  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

But  now  we  must  turn  to  the  great  ruins  of  Kamak, 
which  will  occupy  much  of  our  time  at  Thebes,  and 
before  we  begin  our  study  of  the  ruins  themselves, 
we  must  glance  at  our  maps. 

Turn  first  to  the  General  Map  No.  8,  of  the  “Dis- 
trict of  Thebes.”  Find  Luxor  and  Karnak  again  in  the 
lower  right-hand  corner  of  the  map  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Nile.  Note  again  our  first  position  at 
Luxor,  as  indicated  by  the  lines  48  on  this  map,  that 
we  were  looking  up  the  river,  or  southwest,  and  re- 
member that  in  our  last  position  at  Luxor  we  were 
standing  only  a short  distance  behind  the  first  position 
and  looking  in  the  same  direction.  Evidently,  then,  to 
go  to  Karnak  we  must  turn  completely  around  and 
move  down  the  river,  or  northeast.  Our  first  position 
at  Karnak  is  given  on  this  Map  8,  Position  52,  and 
shows  that  we  are  to  be  looking  northeast,  or  opposite 
to  the  direction  in  which  we  looked  from  our  last  posi- 
tion at  Luxor.  As  the  outline  plan  of  Kamak  is  so 
small  on  this  Map  8,  we  will  turn  to  our  Plan  11.  which 
is  on  a much  larger  scale.  It  might  be  well  to  turn  this 
plan  first  so  that  north,  its  lower  left-hand  corner,  is 
away  from  us,  that  we  may  better  perceive  its  relation  to 
Luxor  and  the  river,  as  given  on  Map  8.  Our  first 
position,  52,  as  marked  on  this  plan  shows  that  we  are 
to  see  the  “western  avenue  of  sphinxes.” 


Position  52,  Grand  avenue  of  rams,  one  of  the 
sotithern  approaches  to  the  temples  of  'Kamalcf 
Thehes 

Up  to  within  a very  few  years,  in  standing  here  you 
would  have  been  looking  upon  the  garden  patches  of 
the  neighboring  villagers,  where,  rising  picturesquely 
among  beans  and  lentils,  you  might  have  descried 


Positions  51,  52.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  It. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  219 

here  and  there  the  head  of  a stone  ram.  So  it  had  been 
for  centuries.  But  now  the  government  has  bought 
up  the  necessary  ground,  and  you  are  able  to  gain  some 
impression  of  what  such  a monumental  approach  to 
the  sanctuaries  of  Egypt  was  like.  We  are  looking, 
you  remember,  in  a generally  northern  line  (a  trifle 
east),  the  river  is  on  our  left  and  Luxor  is  behind 
us,  while  hidden  behind  the  palms  and  the  buildings 
before  us,  are  the  vast  ruins  of  the  Karnak  temple. 
Some  of  those  palms  have  invaded  the  avenue,  con- 
tributing much  to  its  picturesqueness  and  beauty.  If 
only  all  its  invaders  had  been  as  peaceful  and  as  harm- 
less ! For  the  soldiers  of  Assyria  in  plundering  bands 
have  marched  down  this  avenue,  Persian  hordes  have 
swarmed  through  it,  Alexander’s  phalanxes  have 
trodden  it,  the  legions  of  Rome  have  wrecked  it,  and 
the  image-hating  Moslems  have  shattered  its  sculp- 
tures ; until,  war-worn  and  weather-beaten,  these 
scarred  and  battered  forms  show  little  of  their  for- 
mer semblance,  and  you  can  hardly  find  a single  ram  of 
which  the  head  is  still  in  place.  Between  the  fore-legs 
in  every  case  a standing  figure  of  the  king  is  carved ; 
you  can  see  it  clearly  before  the  first  ram  on  our  right. 
It  is  often  the  figure  of  Amenophis  III,  the  king  to 
whom  these  avenues  are  in  large  part  due.  He  con- 
structed them  to  connect  Luxor  and  Karnak  (see  Plan 
11  and  Map  8).  There  is  another  such  avenue  east  of 
us  (on  our  right),  likewise  leading  to  Karnak,  and  it  is 
connected  with  ours  by  a cross  avenue.  At  the  other 
end  of  our  avenue  rises  the  stately  portal,  erected  by 
Euergetes  I (247-222  B.  C).  It  formed  the  gateway 
to  the  temple  enclosure,  for  when  built,  a high  wall 
abutted  upon  it  on  either  side,  of  which  it  was  the 
gate.  This  wall  surrounded  the  whole  complex  of 


Position  52.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  11. 


220  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

temple  buildings  at  Karnak,  and  we  shall  later  see  por- 
tions of  it.  Beyond  that  portal  the  avenue  of  rams 
continues  to  the  door  of  a small  temple ; the  continu- 
ation of  the  avenue  is  not  visible  from  here,  but  you 
can  see  the  door  of  the  temple  through  the  portal  of 
Euergetes  I,  and  the  pylon  towers  which  rise  on  either 
side  of  it.  The  tower  on  the  left  shows  clearly  the 
channels  for  the  flagstaves,  which  we  saw  at  Luxor, 
and  the  openings  above  them  for  clamping  the  staves 
into  place.  This  little  temple  was  sacred  to  the  god 
Khons  (see  Plan  11),  the  son  of  Amon,  and  his  con- 
sort Mut,  and  formed  with  them  the  triad  of  deities 
chiefly  worshiped  at  Thebes.  It  was  begun  by 
Ramses  III  early  in  the  12th  century  B.  C.,  and 
continued  by  his  weak  successors,  until  they  were 
pushed  from  the  throne  by  the  rising  priests  of 
Amon.  The  temple  of  M!ut,  his  mother,  is  at  the  south 
end  of  the  eastern  avenue  of  rams,  already  mentioned 
as  parallel  with  ours  (Plan  11).  It  is  in  such  a state 
of  ruin  that  only  a few  stones  remain  to  mark  the 
ground  plan,  and  we  shall  therefore  not  spend  the 
time  to  visit  it,  but  proceed  from  here  to  the  great 
temple,  out  yonder  behind  the  palms. 

This  next  position  (53)  is  found  in  the  upper  left- 
hand  portion  of  Plan  11.  From  that  point,  the  rear 
of  the  temple,  we  shall  look  northwest  over  the  entire 
length  of  the  great  temple  of  Amon.  This  position  is 
given  also  on  Map  8 and  on  an  enlarged  plan  of  this 
portion  of  the  Karnak  temple  (Plan  12). 

Position  53.  The  entire  length  of  the  gigantic  Tem- 
ple of  Amon  at  Kamalc  (view  northwest), 
Thebes 

As  we  stand  here  at  the  rear  of  the  Karnak  temple, 
looking  north  of  westward  along  its  entire  length,  let 


Positions  52,  53.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


221 


US  think  chiefly  of  topographical  considerations.  We 
shall  be  able  to  return  to  this  point  later  and  examine 
the  details  more  closely.  Out  yonder  behind  the  huge 
pylon  tower  which  rises  at  the  other  end  on  the  left,  is 
the  Nile,  and  on  the  extreme  left  and  right,  you  may 
discern  the  crest  of  the  cliffs  which  flank  the  Theban 
plain  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  (§ee  Map  8). 
That  is  where  we  stood  for  our  first  view  of  Thebes 
(Position  47).  Behind  us  is  the  Arabian  desert 
stretching  off  to  the  Red  Sea. 

In  general  the  oldest  portions  of  the  temple  are  near- 
est us  here  in  the  rear,  and  the  most  recent  at  the  other 
end.  The  modest  chapel  of  Amon,  built  here  by  the 
kings  of  the  12th  Dynasty,  stood  out  in  that  vacant 
space  behind  yonder  native  on  that  fallen  block.  It 
was  erected  about  2000  B.  C.,  and  we  do  not  know  of 
any  earlier  building  on  this  spot.  It  was  enlarged  both 
in  front  and  rear  by  the  great  conquerors  of  the  18th 
Dynasty,  beginning  about  1580  B.  C.  Their  additions 
in  the  rear  are  the  walls  immediately  before  us ; while 
those  in  front  extend  to  the  smaller  obelisk,  or  rather 
to  a fallen  pylon  just  behind  that  obelisk,  not  visible 
from  this  point.  On  the  other  side  of  that  obelisk 
begin  the  enlargements  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  being 
chiefly  the  vast  hypostyle  hall  of  which  you  see  the 
tall  columns  in  the  middle,  the  chief  marvel  of  Egyp- 
tian architecture.  A pylon  beyond  that  hall  and  form- 
ing its  front,  has  fallen  into  ruin,  and  is  not  visible 
from  here.  It  is  called  the  ‘TI  Pylon”  on  the  plan, 
and  was  likewise  the  work  of  the  19th  Dynasty.  The 
pylon  which  we  do  see  (Pylon  I)  rising  behind  the 
hall  is  275  feet  beyond  it,  and  is  the  latest  addition  to 
the  temple.  Between  it  and  the  hall  is  a large  court 
(“great  court”),  with  which  structures  of  an  earlier 


Position  53.  Maps  3,  8.  Pians  11,  12. 


222  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

date  are  connected.  The  pylon  (I)  then,  perhaps 
erected  by  the  Ptolemies  a century  of  two  before 
Christ,  marks  the  completion  of  this  vast  sanctuary, 
some  1,800  years  after  it  was  begun.  We  thus  have 
three  great  sections  of  the  temple  still  surviving ; the 
buildings  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  extending  from  here 
down  to,  but  not  including,  the  “great  h}  postyle  hall” ; 
then  the  hall  itself  as  the  work  of  the  19th  Dynasty, 
and  finally  the  court  beyond  the  liall,  terminating  in  the 
great  pylon  (I)  as  the  latest  addition  to  the  temple. 
There  are  also  four  pylons  on  the  south  of  the  temple, 
now  out  of  range  on  our  left  (Plan  11),  which  were 
likewise  the  work  of  the  18th  Dynasty ; but  they  are  in 
such  a ruined  condition  that  we  shall  not  spend  any 
further  time  on  them. 

From  here  we  shall  proceed  to  the  front  of  the  build- 
ing, that  is,  beyond  that  distant  pylon  tower,  which 
rises  on  the  left,  and  turning  toward  our  present  point 
of  view  we  shall  look  down  the  approach,  and  through 
the  portal  between  the  (I)  pylon  towers.  This  next 
position  is  found  on  the  lower  left-hand  portion  of 
Plan  11.  We  shall  stand  at  the  apex  of  the  lines  num- 
bered 54  and  look  southeast. 

Position  i>4.  Excavatinff  the  famous  avenue  of 
rams,  southeast  to  the  Temple  of  Karnak, 
Thebes 

We  now  stand  before  the  greatest  pylon  in  Egypt, 
the  back  of  which  we  saw  from  the  other  end  of  the 
temple  a moment  ago.  The  river  is  behind  us,  Luxor 
and  the  avenue  of  rams  leading  thence  are  on  our 
right,  and  we  look  slightly  obliquely  down  through 
the  main  entrance  of  the  temple  and  down  the  main 


Positions  53,  54.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  11. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


223 


axis  (Plan  11).  Behind  and  to  the  left  of  that  iso- 
lated column  in  the  court,  you  see  the  gate  of  the  sec- 
ond pylon,  through  which  you  may  follow  the  central 
aisle  between  the  columns  of  the  great  hall  behind  the 
second  pylon,  although  you  are  hardly  able  to  dis- 
tinguish the  individual  columns  which  rise  on  either 
side  of  the  aisle.  But  you  may  even  see  beyond  the 
hall,  for  if  you  will  look  carefully  at  the  other  end  of 
the  aisle,  just  where  our  further  view  is  cut  off  by  the 
left-hand  tower  of  this  first  pylon,  you  will  discern  the 
obelisk  of  Thutmosis  I,  which  was  the  smaller  of  the 
two  which  we  saw  from  the  other  end  of  the  temple 
(Position  53).  That  is  the  earliest  monument  visible 
from  here,  and  there  the  buildings  of  the  18th  Dynasty 
begin,  and  extend,  as  you  saw,  to  the  rear,  while  all  on 
this  side  of  it  (except  the  tumbled  pylon  which  forms 
the  rear  of  the  hall,  not  visible  from  here)  is  of  the 
19th  Dynasty  or  later,  that  is,  from  about  1350  B.  C. 
But  this  enormous  pylon  before  us  is,  as  we  noted 
when  we  saw  it  from  the  rear  (Position  53),  the  latest 
portion  of  the  building.  It  was  possibly  erected  by  the 
Ptolemies,  who  always  favored  the  old  religion  of 
Egypt,  and  not  merely  respected  its  usages  and  sanctu- 
aries, but  themselves  built  splendid  temples  to  the  gods 
of  the  land.  We  shall  see  one  especially  notable  ex- 
ample when  we  have  visited  Edfu  (Positions  81-83). 

This  scene  furnishes  us  another  good  example  of  the 
way  in  which  the  rubbish  and  debris  of  fallen  houses 
collect  before  and  around  and  within  the  temples  of 
Egypt.  Look  at  the  towers  and  see  again  the  rows 
of  holes  in  which  the  roofing  timbers  of  such  houses 
were  supported.  The  rubbish  all  around  us  is  the 
disintegrated  mud-brick  of  their  walls.  Excavations 
have  been  going  on  here  at  Thebes  for  many  years,  for 


Position  54.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  II. 


224  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  purpose  of  clearing  all  this  away,  but  there  is  still 
much  to  be  done.  You  see  that  the  methods  employed 
are  thoroughly  modern,  the  rubbish  being  removed 
as  fast  as  it  can  be  taken  out,  upon  a little  tramway 
leading  down  to  the  river  behind  us.  Here  for  ten 
cents  a day,  the  modern  native  carries  away  the  re- 
mains of  the  houses  of  his  ancestors,  to  uncover  re- 
mains of  his  still  older  forefathers,  and  the  avenue  of 
rams,  once  completely  covered,  begins  to  take  shape 
again  and  emerge  from  its  long  concealment. 

We  have  been  looking  at  this  place  as  it  was  in  1896. 
Now  we  shall  be  permitted  to  see  it  as  it  is  to-day,  and 
thus  gain  some  idea  of  the  purpose  and  method  of  such 
excavations.  But  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  the  ex- 
cavation of  a cemetery  is*a  matter  requiring  far  more 
accuracy,  careful  supervision  and  skill,  than  the  mere 
clearance  of  a temple  front  as  we  see  it  going  on 
here.  Our  next  position  is  to  be  a few  feet  to  our  right 
as  the  red  lines  numbered  55  on  Plan  11  show. 

Position  55.  Avenue  of  sacred  rams,  leading  from 
the  river  to  the  western  entrance  of  the  Kaimak 
Temple  (after  excavation) 

The  tramway  now  lies  piled  up  in  sections  beyond 
the  obelisk  on  the  right  and,  thanks  to  its  efficiency  and 
the  native  laborers,  the  rubbish  in  the  avenue  has  van- 
ished, though  it  remains  in  great  masses  on  either 
side  awaiting  a future  campaign.  This  obelisk  on  our 
right,  with  the  native  in  a snowy  garment  striving  in 
vain  to  puzzle  out  the  writing  of  bis  forefathers,  was 
erected  by  Sethos  II,  toward  the  close  of  the  19th 
Dynasty  (Plan  11).  It  was  Ramses  II  who  erected 
this  splendid  avenue  of  sphinxes,  or  really  of 
rams,  though  they  are  often  called  sphinxes.  The 


Positions  54,  55.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  11. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


225 


row  on  the  right  is  in  an  unusually  good  state  of 
preservation,  and  you  observe  the  statues  of  the  king 
standing  between  the  protecting  forepaws  of  each  ram. 
The  ram  was  the  sacred  animal  of  Amon,  the  great 
god  of  Thebes ; and  hence  his  use  as  the  exclusive  fig- 
ure in  the  sculpture  along  these  Theban  avenues,  thus 
expressing  in  an  oft-repeated  symbol  the  god’s  protec- 
tion of  the  king.  This  avenue  doubtless  once  ex- 
tended beyond  the  point  now  occupied  by  the  first 
pylon,  which  was  not  yet  built  in  Ramses  IPs  time, 
and  led  up  to  the  entrance  between  the  towers  of  the 
second  pylon,  which  you  can  see  through  the  first 
pylon.  Here  the  splendid  festal  processions  of  Amon 
passed  up  from  the  river  to  the  state  temple ; but  now 
it  sees  nothing  more  impressive  than  a straggling  line 
of  Cook’s  tourists,  riding  up  to  the  gate  on  such  tiny 
donkeys  as  this  one,  now  in  the  avenue ; while  an  elo- 
quent descendant  of  the  Pharaohs,  employed  for  the 
purpose,  discourses  learnedly  to  the  unsuspecting 
travelers  upon  historical  incidents  connected  with  the 
temple,  which  never  occurred,  and  of  which  he  knows 
very  little  more  than  his  dupes. 

This  pylon,  thus  erected  across  Ramses  IPs  avenue, 
is  the  largest  in  Egypt,  being  50  feet  thick,  142 
feet  high,  and  forming  a front  no  less  than  376 
feet  wide.  But  it  was  never  completed,  and  por- 
tions of  the  brick  scaffolding  used  in  its  erection  are 
still  to  be  found  beneath  these  heaps  of  rubbish  on 
either  side.  It  was  the  last  work  done  on  this  temple 
so  far  as  we  know,  and  after  it  was  abandoned,  the 
Romans  allowed  the  temple  to  fall  into  ruin.  The 
gateway  of  iron,  which  stands  open  before  us,  is  the 
work  of  the  government  for  keeping  out  the  natives 


Position  55.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  11, 


226  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

and  preventing  vandalism  in  the  temple.  The  tim- 
bers across  the  door  in  the  second  pylon  are  also  mod- 
ern repairs,  of  which  we  shall  have  more  to  say  later 
on.  Through  these  timbers  you  can  see  the  columns 
of  the  great  hyjxjstyle  hall,  and  far  beyond  appears 
the  “east  gate”  (Plan  11),  which  forms  the  entrance 
to  the  temple  enclosure  through  the  sun-dried  brick 
wall  surrounding  the  entire  sanctuary.  We  saw  an- 
other gate  in  that  sam’e  wall  in  looking  down  the  “west- 
ern avenue  of  rams”  (Position  52).  That  “east  gate” 
yonder  is  over  a third  of  a mile  away,  which  is  the 
distance  between  the  extreme  eastern  and  western 
approaches  of  this  enormous  temple.  We  shall  pres- 
ently be  able  to  see  the  wall  to  which  it  belongs,  for 
we  are  about  to  climb  the  staircase  that  leads  up 
through  the  interior  of  the  left-hand  tower  before  us, 
look  down  into  the  court  that  is  beyond,  and  over  the 
great  hypostyle  hall  behind  the  court ; when  we  shall 
see  the  brick  enclosure  wall  (“girdle  wall”  on  Plan 
11),  far  beyond.  Find  the  red  lines  numbered  56, 
which  indicate  this  next  standpoint  and  our  field  of 
vision  from  it  on  Plan  11.  It  is  also  given  on  Plan  12, 
an  enlarged  plan  of  this  temple. 

Position  5G,  The  great  eonrt  of  the  Karnak  Tem- 
ple seen  (southeast)  from  the  top  of  the  first 
pylon}  Thebes 

What  a scene  of  desolation ! Do  you  wonder  that 
the  destruction  of  this  great  city  stirred  the  peoples  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth  and  called  forth  from  a Hebrew 
prophet  a stinging  warning  to  Nineveh  that  a like  fate 
awaited  her?  The  vengeance  of  Assyria,  Persia  and 
Rome,  and  the  earthquake  of  27  B.  C.  have  wrought 
the  ruin  before  us,  and  brought  low  a work  which  was 


Positions  55,  56.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  It,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


227 


the  pride  of  the  Pharaohs  and  the  greatest  architec- 
tural achievement  of  oriental  history,  perhaps  the 
greatest  of  all  time. 

We  are  standing  upon  the  northern  tower  of  the 
first  pylon,  and  looking  down  the  length  of  the  tem- 
ple toward  the  east  (Plan  11).  Behind  us  is  the  Nile, 
on  our  right  is  Luxor,  and  on  our  left  are  the  cities  of 
the  lower  river,  Abydos,  Assiut,  Benihasan,  Mem- 
phis, and  the  rest,  which  we  passed  on  our  voyage 
hither.  Under  our  feet,  then,  is  the  latest  portion  of 
the  building,  before  us  the  “great  court”  of  somewhat 
earlier  date,  leading  to  the  “hypostyle  hall”  of  the  19th 
Dynasty,  behind  which  you  see  the  obelisk  which  marks 
the  beginning  of  the  works  of  the  18th  Dynasty.  Those 
two  shapeless  masses  of  tumbled  stone  on  either  side 
of  that  door,  once  formed  the  two  towers  of  the  second 
pylon,  built  by  the  Pharaohs  of  the  19th  Dynasty  as 
the  front  of  their  great  hall.  They  took  some  of  the 
material,  that  is,  the  stones  which  you  see  there, 
largely  from  the  temple  of  the  great  heretic  Amenophis 
IV  (Ikhnaton),  the  arch  enemy  of  Amon,  who 
had  attempted  to  exterminate  his  worship.  (See  his- 
tory, pages  30-31.)  This  overthrowm  pylon  is  one  of 
the  most  eloquent  witnesses  of  the  ruin  which  overtook 
the  works  of  Amenophis  IV,  for  you  may  find  on 
some  of  these  blocks  the  name  of  the  great  reformer’s 
successors,  who  sympathized  in  his  movement.  The 
last  vestiges  of  their  sanctuary  to  Aton  were  thus  em- 
ployed by  the  19th  Dynasty  kings  in  extending  the. 
temple  of  the  very  god  whom  the  reformers  had  been 
trying  to  exterminate.  They  turned  the  hated  names 
of  the  heretics  inward ; but  the  fall  of  the  towers  has 
now  exposed  them  in  a number  of  places.  This  sec- 
ond pylon,  when  perfect,  formed  the  front  of  the  state 


Position  56.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  II,  12. 


228  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

temple,  sacred  to  the  state  god  Amon.  It  was  nearly 
350  feet  wide,  while  the  door  between  the  towers  was 
once  crowned  by  a lintel  block  40  feet  10  inches  long, 
and  weighing  over  a hundred  tons.  Leading  to  the 
door  is  a kind  of  vestibule,  before  which  stand  two 
colossal  statues  of  Ramses  II.  The  one  on  the  right 

is,  you  see,  nearly  perfect,  but  the  other  has  almost 
disappeared,  only  one  leg  and  the  base  still  sur- 
viving. In  Ramses  IFs  time,  then,  none  of  these  col- 
umns before  the  door  had  yet  been  erected,  but  in  all 
probability  the  avenue  of  rams,  which  we  saw  leading 
up  from  the  river,  was  continued  to  this  door.  Then 
in  the  days  of  Solomon’s  son,  Rehoboam,  the  kings  of 
the  22nd  Dynasty,  about  950  B.  C.,  began  a vast  court 
here  in  front  of  this  pylon.  We  cannot  now  sweep  its 
full  width,  but  it  is  338  feet  wide,  and  from  the  pylon 
on  which  we  stand  to  the  other  before  us  it  is  275  feet. 
The  Ethiopians  of  the  beginning  of  the  7th  century 
B.  C.  (25th  Dynasty)  then  erected  a double  row  of  five 
columns  each,  in  this  court  before  the  door.  One  of 
them  on  the  right,  is  still  standing,  and  you  may  see  the 
fragmentary  remains  of  eight  others.  It  is  not  clear 
just  what  they  were  intending  to  make,  but  it  is  pos- 
sible that  they  planned  an  enormous  hypostyle  hall, 
of  which  these  columns  were  to  form  the  two  rows  of 
the  nave;  and  that  they,  of  course,  failed  to  complete 

it.  For  the  column  still  standing  is  69  feet  high,  and 
a hall  of  such  proportions  would  be  quite  beyond  the 
resources  of  the  weak  Ethiopian  Dynasty. 

If  you  will  look  over  the  fallen  tower  on  the  right, 
beginning  over  the  capital  of  the  standing  column,  you 
may  observe  the  long,  horizontal  architraves  that  sup- 
pK>rted  the  roofing  blocks  of  the  hall  behind  the  first 
pylon.  Now  those  architraves  are  supported  upon 


Position  56.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


229 


columns ; but  the  columns  at  the  sides  of  the  hall 
are  not  so  high  as  those  which  you  see  as  you  look 
down  the  central  aisle  or  nave.  You  saw  the  capitals 
of  these  lower  side  columns  in  our  first  view  of  the 
temple  from  behind  (Position  53).  On  the  left,  but 
now  out  of  our  range  of  vision,  is  the  other  half  of  the 
hall,  corresponding  to  that  of  which  we  see  the  roof 
on  the  right.  On  the  morning  of  the  third  of  October, 
1899,  between  eight  and  nine  o’clock,  two  of  the  watch- 
men of  the  temple  were  standing  outside  this  hall  on 
one  of  the  heaps  of  rubbish  to  the  north  of  it,  now  out 
of  range  on  our  left,  when  they  were  startled  by  a 
thunderous  fall  in  the  temple,  and  turning  toward  it, 
they  saw  the  capitals  and  architraves  at  the  back  of 
the  hall  on  the  north  (or  left)  side  toppling  over  to- 
ward the  pylon  before  us.  As  the  falling  columns 
struck  their  fellows,  these  in  turn  fell,  and  the  two 
watchmen  running  wildly  toward  the  scene  of  the 
catastrophe,  arrived  just  in  time  to  see  the  last  pair 
nearest  the  pylon  crashing  against  it  as  they  were 
hurled  down  in  their  turn.  In  all  eleven  columns 
fell,  three  were  drawn  partially  over,  and  seventeen 
massive  architraves  were  brought  to  the  ground.  You 
may  gain  some  idea  of  the  weight  of  these  architraves 
if  you  will  look  at  those  still  resting  upon  the  tops  of 
the  columns  on  the  opposite  side  or  right  of  the  cen- 
tral aisle.  The  cause  of  the  catastrophe  was  partially 
the  insecure  foundations,  and  the  age  of  the  columns, 
but  chiefly  the  mistaken  policy  of  allowing  the  waters 
of  the  inundation  to  penetrate  into  the  temple, 
a policy  due  to  the  French  Service  des  Antiquities, 
then,  as  now,  in  charge  of  the  temple.  The  debris 
from  the  fall  has  now  been  removed  from  the  hall,  and 


Positien  56.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


230  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  government  is  spending  large  sums  of  money  in  re- 
placing the  columns  as  they  were  before,  an  under- 
taking which  will  cost  several  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars before  it  is  completed.  The  cost  of  resetting  these 
eleven  columns  and  raising  to  their  places  the  seven- 
teen architraves  in  modern  times,  will  serve  to  give  you 
a hint  of  what  it  meant  for  an  Egyptian  king  to  erect 
such  a hall  as  this  with  its  132  columns,  of  which 
twelve  in  the  middle  are  vastly  larger  than  those  which 
fell.  The  shock  of  these  falling  columns  as  they 
struck  this  second  pylon  was  such  as  to  endanger  its 
already  unstable  masonry  still  standing  on  either  side 
of  the  door,  and  hence  the  engineers  have  inserted  the 
timber  braces  which  you  see  in  the  doorway. 

The  great  hall  and  the  middle  portions  of  the  sec- 
ond pylon  nearly  shut  out  from  view  the  older  works 
of  the  18th  Dynasty  beyond,  but  we  have  already  called 
your  attention  to  the  obelisk  of  Thutmosis  I,  seen 
down  the  middle  aisle.  The  other  obelisk,  the  taller  of 
the  two,  may,  however,  be  seen  peeping  over  the  top 
of  the  left  tower  of  the  pylon.  We  shall  look  at  these 
monoliths  more  closely  later  on  (Position  59).  Back 
of  the  fallen  right-hand  tower  you  observe  the  sun- 
dried  brick  wall  which  encloses  the  entire  temple.  You 
will  remember  that  we  saw  the  “east  gate”  of  this  wall 
as  we  looked  down  the  central  axis  of  the  temple  from 
in  front  of  the  first  pylon,  our  last  position ; but 
that  gate  is  now  hidden  by  the  left  tower  of  the  pylon 
before  us  (Plan  11).  Outside  the  wall  you  see  the 
fields  and  groves  of  the  peasants,  just  as  they  must 
have  been  in  the  days  of  the  old  Thebes,  and  behind 
them  rises  that  other  wall,  which  we  have  seen  so  often, 
the  distant  wall  of  the  canon,  which  encloses  all 
Upper  Egypt. 


Po5ltlon  56.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  II,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


231 


And  now  we  shall  take  our  station  in  the  great  hall, 
the  architectural  wonder  of  Egypt.  We  shall  stand 
at  the  other  end  of  the  central  aisle  or  nave,  with  the 
smaller  obelisk  just  behind  us  and  a little  to  the  left, 
and  look  through  the  nave  toward  this  pylon  on  which 
we  stand.  This  position  is  given  only  on  Plan  12. 
You  find  our  standpoint  near  the  centre  of  the  plan, 
the  encircled  number  57,  with  the  red  lines  extending 
toward  the  left  or  northwest. 

Position  .57.  The  famous  colonnade  of  the  great 
Hypostyle  Hall  in  the  Temple  of  Kamak, 
Thebes 

Here  we  stand  beneath  the  greatest  columns  ever 
erected  by  the  hand  of  man.  Look  at  that  pygmy 
human  form  out  yonder  at  the  other  end  of  the  aisle, 
and  then  set  it  against  these  tremendous  shafts.  What 
a feeling  of  littleness  as  the  eye  soars  aloft  amid 
this  forest  of  giant  forms,  each  bearing  its  mys- 
terious legend  of  a forgotten  past,  of  vanished 
power  and  splendor,  of  which  there  is  now  no 
whisper  in  all  the  great  silence  round  about  us. 
Through  the  roofless  nave  the  sunlight  streams 
in  and  throws  vast  black  shadows  athwart  the  aisle, 
in  marked  contrast  with  the  bright,  serene  sky  against 
which  the  capitals  are  so  sharply  outlined.  Do  you 
know  that  you  could  place  a hundred  men,  standing 
upon  each  one  of  those  capitals?  Twelve  hundred  men 
up>on  these  twelve  capitals ! Perhaps  this  may  convey 
some  idea  of  their  size  as  the  dimensions  in  figures 
cannot  do.  But  you  will  want  the  figures.  These  col- 
umns are  65  feet  high,  35  feet  in  circumference  and 
over  11  feet  through.  It  is  a fortunate  thing  for  the 


Positions  56,  57.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  12. 


232  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

government  treasury  that  these  were  not  involved  in 
the  catastrophe  of  October  3,  1899. 

We  shall  not  understand  this  great  hall  unless  we 
know  just  where  we  are  standing.  Recall  what  we 
said  as  we  were  leaving  our  last  point  of  view  out 
there  on  the  top  of  the  first  pylon;  and  look  again  at 
the  plan  of  the  temple  (Plan  12).  You  will  see  that 
we  are  looking  westward,  down  the  main  aisle  of  the 
great  hypostyle  hall.  Behind  us  and  a little  to  the 
left  is  the  obelisk  of  Thutmosis  I,  on  our  left  is  Luxor, 
before  us  at  the  other  end  of  this  magnificent  nave  is 
the  door  which  we  saw  from  the  top  of  the  first  pylon, 
beyond  it  the  great  first  court  with  just  the  edge  of 
the  capital  of  the  sole  standing  column  showing  at  the 
left  side  of  the  door,  through  which  one  of  the  towers 
of  the  first  pylon  appears,  balancing  the  other  barely 
visible  at  the  right  side  of  the  aisle.  We  see  the  rub- 
bish still  encumbering  the  door  of  the  first  pylon  yon- 
der, to  which  leads  the  avenue  of  rams  from  the  river, 
and  a lone  palm  on  the  river  bank  is  clearly  defined 
against  the  cliffs  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where 
we  stood  for  our  first  view  of  Thebes  (Position  47). 
These  blocks  upon  which  we  are  standing  belong  to 
the  third  pylon,  which  forms  the  rear  wall  of  the  great 
hypostyle  hall.  It  is  the  last  work  of  the  18th  Dy- 
nasty in  the  temple,  having  been  built  by  Amenophis 
III.  At  his  death  it  formed  the  front  of  the  temple 
and  remained  such  until  the  beginning  of  the  19th 
Dynasty,  when  the  great  hall  before  us  was  under- 
taken. We  shall  see  more  of  it  later,  but  as  it  marks 
the  transition  from  the  18th  to  the  19th  Dynasty  we 
should  carefully  note  its  position  behind  this  great  hall 
(Plan  12). 


Position  57.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


233 


Now  we  shall  move  back  behind  the  sacred  lake  and 
view  the  hall  in  its  entirety.  This  next  standpoint  is 
given  on  Plan  11.  We  stand  as  the  encircled  red  num- 
ber 58  shows,  on  the  south  side  of  the  lake,  and  look 
nearly  north  across  it  to  the  great  hypostyle  hall. 

Position  58.  Looking  across  the  Sacred  Lake 
(y.N.W.)  to  the  great  Hypostyle  Hall  of  Kar- 
nak,  Thebes 

Here  we  gain  a better  idea  of  the  relation  of  the 
gigantic  aisle  where  we  have  just  stood,  to  the  rest 
• of  the  building.  We  were  stationed,  at  our  last  point 
of  view,  just  back  of  those  two  columns  which  stand 
out  so  prominently  at  the  hither  end  of  the  aisle  (Plan 
11).  We  are  now  looking  obliquely  across  that 
aisle,  nearly  northward.  There  are  the  two  obelisks 
which  we  saw  from  the  rear  of  the  temple  (Po- 
sition 53),  back  of  the  hall  as  they  should  be. 
The  side  aisles  of  the  great  hall  now  spread 
out  on  each  side  of  the  central  aisle  in  clear 
view  before  us.  Especially  on  the  left  you  can 
see  row  after  row  of  architraves  with  the  capitals 
of  the  supporting  columns  beneath  them,  each  capital 
crowned  by  the  square  abacus  block  upon  which 
hidden  behind  the  walls  which  once  enveloped  them 
the  architrave  rests.  The  side  columns  themselves  are 
entirely,  but  have  now  partially  fallen,  exposing  the 
capitals  sufficiently  so  that  you  can  see  that  they  are 
bud  capitals,  contrasting  with  the  broad  spreading 
flower  capitals  of  the  central  aisle.  We  shall  notice 
both  sides  often  as  we  proceed,  but  the  arrangement 
here,  with  flower  capitals  in  the  middle  and  bud  cap- 
itals at  the  sides,  is  the  usual  one,  and  should  therefore 
be  particularly  remarked.  Now  these  side  columns  are 


Position  58.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  11. 


234  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

43  feet  high,  20  feet  8 inches  in  circumference,  and 
nearly  7 feet  through.  Those  of  the  middle  aisle  are 
22  feet  higher,  and  the  resulting  difference  in  the  height 
of  the  roofs  over  the  middle  and  side  aisles,  which  we 
call  a clerestory,  is  utilized  for  the  insertion  of  a row 
of  windows,  which  you  see  here  on  either  side  of  the 
middle  aisle,  above  the  roof  of  the  side  aisles.  These 
were  filled  with  gratings  cut  from  limestone,  but  only 
one  of  these  gratings  is  now  preserved.  It  is  on  the 
other  side  and  concealed  from  us  by  the  tops  of  the 
middle  columns.  You  will  immediately  recognize  in 
this  arrangement  the  basilica  hall  of  Roman  archi- 
tecture and  the  columned  nave  and  side  aisles  of  the 
early  European  cathedrals.  The  earliest  example  of 
this  form  is  the  central  aisle  of  splendid  columns 
erected  by  Amenophis  III,  which  you  saw  at  Luxor; 
but  you  will  remember  that  the  side  aisles  are  there 
lacking,  as  it  was  never  finished.  If  you  will  turn 
back  to  those  Luxor  columns  you  can  now  better  un- 
derstand them  than  before.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  Egypt  furnished  Europe  and  the  later  world  with 
this  beautiful  architectural  form,  and  if  we  owed  her 
nothing  else,  this  single  contribution  would  be  plentiful 
cause  for  gratitude  and  recognition. 

We  have  spoken  of  the  vast  size  of  the  central  aisle 
and  its  supporting  columns,  but  what  of  the  entire  hall 
itself?  Its  roof  is  supported  upon  134  columns  of 
which  twelve  in  two  rows  of  six  each  occupy  the  mid- 
dle aisle,  while  122  are  equally  divided  between  the 
two  sides.  When  we  remember  that  the  side  columns 
are  each  nearly  seven  feet  through,  and  the  middle  ones 
nearly  twelve,  it  will  be  evident  that  such  a host  of 
colossal  shafts  must  of  themselves  demand  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  room  if  set  at  a proper  distance  apart. 


Position  58.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  II. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


235 


The  great  hall  is  therefore  170  feet  by  329  feet.  It 
does  not  seem  possible,  as  we  look  upon  it  from  here, 
but  we  could  put  the  whole  cathedral  of  Notre  Dame 
in  Paris  into  this  hall  and  have  plenty  of  room  to 
spare.  And  we  should  not  forget  that  this  is  but  one 
hall  of  the  temple,  occupying  less  than  one-seventh 
of  the  entire  length  of  the  building.  (See  Plans  11 
and  12.) 

Our  view  is  much  interfered  with  by  those  great 
heaps  of  rubbish  which  we  find  here  at  the  side,  as  we 
found  them  in  front  of  the  temple,  but  they  are  being 
gradually  removed,  and  there  will  some  time  be  an 
unobstructed  view  of  great  beauty  from  this  point. 
The  south  wall  of  the  hall,  which  appears  above  the 
rubbish  on  the  extreme  left,  is  filled  with  the  most  in- 
teresting records  of  Ramses  II,  especially  the  poetic 
narrative  of  his  brave  defense  at  the  battle  of  Kadesh, 
which  we  found  depicted  in  the  reliefs  on  the  pylon 
of  the  Luxor  temple.  Abutting  upon  that  wall  you  see 
another  which  is  continued  out  of  range  of  vision  on 
the  left.  Parallel  with  it,  between  it  and  the  lake,  you 
can  just  discern  the  line  of  another,  a corresponding 
wall,  which,  with  the  first,  forms  an  enclosure  leading 
up  from  the  southern  pylons  (pylons  VII  to  X,  Plan 
11),  which  we  do  not  stop  to  view,  owing  to  their 
ruined  condition. 

This  sacred  lake,  now  merely  a wallowing  pool  for 
the  buffaloes  of  the  neighboring  peasantry,  has  been 
the  scene  of  the  most  gorgeous  pageants,  when  the  vic- 
torious conquerors  of  Syria  returned  to  celebrate  their 
triumphs  in  the  state  temple.  In  his  glittering  barge, 
resplendent  with  gold  and  precious  stones,  the  god  was 
borne  around  this  lake,  followed  by  a long  line  of  gaily 
decorated  boats  carrying  the  king,  the  white-robed 


Position  58.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


236  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

priests  and  crowds  of  the  royal  favorites  who  had 
gained  military  distinction  in  the  Syrian  wars.  Great 
heaps  of  costly  plunder,  the  richest  wealth  of  Asia,  were 
piled  upon  these  shores  to  delight  the  eye  of  the  god, 
while  lines  of  wretched  captives  stood  waiting  to  be 
led  into  the  temple,  there  to  be  sacrificed  before  him. 
In  those  days  this  lake  was  lined  with  lotus  flowers 
and  other  water  lilies,  rich  masses  of  nodding  palms 
were  mirrored  in  its  crystal  surface,  while  all  around 
were  gardens  filled  with  strange  and  rare  plants, 
brought  by  the  conquerors  from  the  extreme  limits  of 
their  distant  conquests.  But  now  where  once  floated 
the  Pharaoh’s  royal  barge,  the  buffaloes  stir  up  the 
muddy  pool  and  dirty  little  urchins  throw  stones  into 
the  turbid  waters. 

But  we  must  now  look  once  more  into  the  great  hall, 
and  then  turn  our  attention  to  the  two  obelisks  yonder. 
Do  you  see  that  fragment  of  wall  which  cuts  off  about 
half  of  the  smaller  obelisk,  leaving  only  the  upper  half 
visible  ? That  piece  of  wall  is  part  of  the  fourth  pylon. 
Glance  at  its  relative  position  on  Plan  12,  for  we  are 
about  to  take  p>osition  upon  it  for  another  view  down 
the  central  aisle  of  the  great  hall.  This  position  is  in- 
dicated by  the  lines  numbered  59  on  Plan  12. 

Position  59.  Middle  aisle  of  the  great  Hypostyle 
and  the  obelisk  of  Thntmosis  I,  from  the  top 
of  the  fourth  pylon,  Kamak,  Thebes 

Here  we  gain  a more  comprehensive  view  of  the  nave 
of  the  great  hall  than  we  had  when  we  stood  down 
there  on  the  third  pylon  (Position  57)  ; for  now  we  can 
also  see  the  right-hand  row,  which  is  much  better 
preserved  than  that  on  the  left,  the  capitals  of  which 


Positions  58,  59.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


237 


have  been  shattered,  probably  by  fire,  while  the  further 
four  on  the  right  are  almost  unblemished.  The  first 
two,  one  on  each  side,  have  been  repaired  at  some 
period,  with  rough  masonry,  which  has  never  been 
dressed  down.  The  columns  must  not  be  judged  by 
these  two.  The  four  nearly  perfect  ones  on  the  right 
convey  very  effectively  the  grandeur  and  sombre 
beauty  which  an  Egyptian  architect  understood  how 
to  express  in  his  great  colonnade.  Here  you  see  more 
clearly  than  before,  that  they  are  papyrus  flower  col- 
umns, such  as  regularly  occupy  the  central  aisle  of 
such  a hypostyle.  They  are  in  grace  and  contour  per- 
haps not  equal  to  the  magnificent  columns  at  Luxor, 
which  Amenophis  III  erected  there,  with  the  purpose 
of  building  a hall  similar  to  this ; but  their  mere  size 
alone  is  a potent  factor  in  the  tremendous  impression 
which  they  convey.  See  those  vast  architraves  each 
supported  on  the  square  block,  or  abacus,  resting  upon 
the  capital  of  the  column.  These  architraves  upheld 
the  now  vanished  roof,  of  which  a few  fragmentary 
pieces  may  be  seen  lying  upon  them.  Tliis  roof 
was  75  feet  above  the  pavement,  but  all  has  now  been 
shattered  and  hurled  to  the  floor  below  by  the  succes- 
sive destructions  of  Assyrian,  Persian  and  Roman ; 
and  what  the  hand  of  man  could  not  destroy  the  earth- 
quake has  laid  low,  until  the  columns  rise  in  nakedness 
to  the  sky,  flooded  with  sunshine,  whereas  the  archi- 
tect intended  them  to  be  seen  in  the  sombre  half  light 
that  was  dimly  diffused  through  the  great  hall.  That 
light  came  through  grated  stone  windows,  of  which 
you  notice  the  row  on  the  left,  on  a level  with  the  cap- 
itals, but  so  foreshortened  that  you  may  not  recognize 
them  as  the  ones  that  you  saw  across  the  sacred  lake. 
The  corresponding  row  on  the  other  side  is  hidden  by 


Position  59,  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


238  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  obelisk,  though  you  may  see  this  end  of  it  project- 
ing on  the  right  of  the  obelisk.  These  windows,  as 
you  observed  before,  occupy  the  difference  in  level 
between  the  higher  roof  of  the  central  aisle  and  the 
lower  roof  of  the  side  aisle,  and  form  a clerestory. 

Our  first  point  of  view  in  this  hall  was  just  on  the 
other  side  of  this  obelisk  (Plan  12),  on  the  ruins  of 
the  right-hand  tower  of  the  third  pylon ; but  we  are 
now  standing  on  the  left-hand  tower  of  the  fourth 
pylon.  This  handsome  obelisk  of  Thutmosis  I we 
have  seen  several  times  before,  the  first  time  having 
been  from  the  rear  of  the  temple  (Position  53).  Note 
how  the  falling  of  the  heavy  masonry  from  the 
pylon  where  we  stand  has  split  off  a corner  of  the 
shaft  as  it  smote  the  obelisk.  You  have  been  struck 
by  the  large  and  beautiful  hieroglyphs  of  the  middle 
column.  These  are  the  dedication  inscription  of  Thut- 
mosis I,  early  in  the  18th  Dynasty.  The  side  columns 
of  smaller  hieroglyphs  are  additional  inscriptions  of 
Ramses  IV  and  Ramses  VI,  which  they  have  inserted 
here,  upon  a monument  which  did  not  belong  to  them. 
An  obelisk  should  have  but  one  line  of  inscription 
down  the  middle  of  each  face  like  that  of  Sesostris  I, 
which  you  saw  at  Heliopolis.  But  the  decadent 
Ramessids  of  the  20th  Dynasty  were  unable  to  erect 
obelisks,  for  themselves,  and  were  obliged  to  appro- 
priate those  of  their  ancestors.  There  is  no  more 
graphic  evidence  of  the  decline  of  Egypt  under  the 
20th  Dynasty  than  such  monuments  as  these. 

Just  behind  us  as  we  stand  here  on  the  fourth  pylon 
is  a ruinous  hall  in  which  stands  the  tallest  obelisk  in 
Egypt.  Our  next  position  is  to  be  a point  behind  us 
and  to  our  left,  from  which  we  shall  look  northeast 


Position  59.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


239 


across  this  hall.  The  red  lines  numbered  60  in  the 
middle  portion  of  Plan  12  give  this  next  position. 

Position  GO.  The  tallest  obelisk  in  Egypt,  erected 
by  Queen  Makere  ( Jlatshepsut)  in  the  Karnak 
Temple  at  Thebes 

We  are  now  looking  northward  with  the  sacred  lake 
behind  us,  and  a little  to  the  right ; on  our  left  with 
just  the  northernmost  corner  showing,  is  the  great  hall, 
above  which  rises  the  smaller  obelisk  over  the  inter- 
vening fourth  pylon  (Plan  12).  Those  tottering 
blocks  just  on  the  right  of  the  smaller  obelisk  formed 
our  rather  precarious  footing,  as  we  looked  down  into 
the  great  hall  just  now  (Position  59),  and  you  see 
again  the  shattered  corner  of  the  obelisk,  which  we  had 
before  us  as  we  stood  up  there.  This  fourth  pylon 
was  built  by  Thutmosis  I,  and  formed  the  front  of 
the  temple  during  a large  part  of  the  18th  Dynasty, 
until  Amenophis  III  erected  his  pylon,  now  the  back 
of  the  great  hall,  later  built  in  front  of  it.  At  what 
was  then  the  front  of  the  temple,  Thutmosis  I erected 
the  obelisk  we  see  still  standing  there,  but  its  fellow 
has  fallen.  It  stood  at  the  other  side  of  the  survivor, 
which  is  76  feet  high  and  6 feet  square  at  the  base. 
We  have  the  biography  of  the  architect,  an  official 
named  Ineni,  who  raised  these  obelisks  of  Thutmosis  I, 
preserved  in  his  tomb  on  the  other  side  of  the  river. 
He  says  of  his  work : “I  superintended  the  erection  of 
the  two  obelisks.  . . . built  an  august  boat  of  120 
cubits  (about  200  feet)  in  length  and  40  cubits  (about 
67  feet)  in  width,  in  order  to  transport  these  obelisks. 
They  arrived  in  peace,  safety  and  prosperity  and  landed 
at  Karnak.”  This,  of  course,  refers  to  the  voyage 
from  the  granite  quarries  at  the  first  cataract,  whence 


Position  60.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


240  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  shaft  was  brought  hither.  It  will  be  seen  that  it 
required  no  mean  boat  to  float  such  a pair  as  this  down 
the  river. 

The  location  of  the  large  obelisk  to  our  right  is 
very  unusual,  for  you  see  it  stands  here  behind  the 
fourth  pylon.  Indeed,  as  we  shall  now  explain,  it 
stands  in  a colonnaded  hall.  Behind  this  fourth  pylon, 
but  now  just  out  of  our  range  on  the  right,  is  a fifth 
pylon,  also  built  by  Thutmosis  I.  This  he  built  first,  and 
afterward  erected  the  fourth  here  on  our  left.  In  the 
space  between  these  two  pylons,  that  is,  the  space  directly 
before  us,  where  we  now  see  the  great  obelisk  and  its 
fallen  fellow,  he  raised  a fine  colonnaded  hall,  which 
served  in  his  time  as  the  hypostyle  hall  of  the  temple. 
Fragments  of  inscriptions  on  his  columns  show  that 
they  were  originally  of  cedar,  the  only  reference 
to  wooden  columns  in  any  Egyptian  temple.  But  they 
were  afterward  replaced  by  stone.  In  this  hall  on  a cer- 
tain solemn  feast  day,  when  Amon  came  forth  in  gor- 
geous procession,  the  young  and  obscure  prince  who 
afterward  became  Thutmosis  III,  the  greatest  con- 
queror in  Egyptian  history,  was  nominated  as  king 
by  a special  oracle  of  the  god,  who  stopped  before  the 
young  prince  as  he  stood  in  the  ranks  of  the  priests, 
and  designated  him  as  the  future  king.  Of  course, 
this  was  all  done  by  connivance  and  plotting  of  the 
priesthood.  Under  Thutmosis  Fs  daughter,  Makere 
(often  called  Hatshepsut  or  Hatasoo!),  this  hall  suf- 
fered strange  alteration.  She  placed  her  obelisks  in  it, 
although  she  was  obliged  to  unroof  it,  and  to  remove 
many  of  the  columns  in  order  to  do  so.  She  had  them 
brought  in  frorn  this  side  over  the  spot  where  we  now 
stand,  and  all  the  columns  on  this  side  of  the  hall, 
some  of  those  on  the  other  side,  as  well  as  the  side 


Position  60.  Maps  3,  8.  Pians  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


241 


wall  behind  us,  had  to  be  taken  down  in  order  to  in- 
troduce and  erect  the  obelisks.  She  tells  with  great 
pride  in  an  inscription  on  the  base  of  the  standing 
obelisk  yonder,  how  she  did  it  all  in  response  to  an 
oracle  of  the  god  Amon,  and  states  that  the  obelisks 
were  taken  from  the  quarry  in  the  brief  space  of  seven 
months.  As  it  now  stands  the  great  obelisk  is  97|r 
feet  high  and  8^  feet  square  at  the  base,  being  the 
largest  obelisk  in  Egypt,  but  not  the  largest  known; 
for  the  queen’s  brother  and  rival  for  the  throne,  Thut- 
mosis  III,  brought  to  this  temple  an  obelisk  105^  feet 
in  height,  which  was  finally  erected  by  his  grandson, 
Thutmosis  IV,  but  was  afterward  carried  to  Rome, 
and  tiow  stands  in  front  of  the  church  of  St.  John 
Lateran.  The  obelisk  before  us  is  over  20  feet  higher 
than  that  of  Thutmosis  I,  and  weighs  some  350  tons. 
Of  its  fallen  companion  only  this  upper  part  before 
us  survives,  but  it  gives  you  an  opportunity  to  examine 
the  pyramidal  pvoint  at  the  top.  This  pyramid  was 
covered  with  electrum,  an  alloy  of  gold  and  silver, 
which,  glittering  in  the  sun,  might  be  seen  from  afar 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  as  the  queen  states  in  her 
inscription. 

You  will  see,  then,  that  the  erection  of  these  obe- 
lisks having  caused  the  dismantling  of  the  temple  hypo- 
style,  it  was  therefore  necessary  for  the  kings  of  the 
19th  Dynasty  to  erect  a new  hypostyle  in  front  of  this, 
which  they  did,  producing  the  great  colonnaded  hall 
which  we  have  already  visited.  Thutmosis  I’s  col- 
umns were  not  replaced  here  until  the  time  of  his 
grandson,  Amenophis  II,  some  forty  years  after  the 
queen  took  them  down.  But  they  have  all  fallen  again, 
and  their  bases  are  covered  by  the  rubbish,  beneath 
our  feet.  You  can  distinguish  the  entrance  between 


Position  60.  Maps  3,  8.  Pians  11,  12. 


242  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  two  towers  of  the  fourth  pylon  in  a line 
with  the  head  of  that  native  in  the  white  gar- 
ment and  between  that  line  and  the  fallen  obelisk. 
That  entrance  was  erected  by  the  architect  Ineni,  of 
whom  we  have  before  spoken,  and  he  says  of  it : “I 
superintended  the  erection  of  the  great  portal  named 
‘Amon-is-Great-in-Height’ ; its  huge  door  was  of  Asi- 
atic bronze,  whereon  was  the  Divine  Shadow  (the 
figure  of  Amon)  inlaid  with  gold.”  All  such  pylon 
entrances  as  we  have  seen,  were  closed  with  enormous 
doors  of  bronze,  or  of  cedar  overlaid  with  bronze, 
inlaid  and  chased  with  gold  and  electrum.  That  door 
looked  down  a central  aisle,  the  columns  of  which 
were  like  those  of  the  great  hypostyle,  but,  of  course, 
smaller.  You  must  imagine  it  as  leading  directly 
across  our  line  of  vision  between  the  standing  and  the 
fallen  obelisk.  The  aisle  then  led  through  a smaller, 
now  totally  ruined  hypostyle,  out  of  range  on  our 
right,  then  through  a smaller  pylon  (the  sixth),  and 
some  small  ante-chambers,  to  the  holy  of  holies.  (See 
Plan  12.) 

We  shall  now  be  able  to  return  to  our  first  view  of 
the  temple  and  notice  more  intelligently  some  of  the 
facts  and  details  connected  with  the  various  parts.  See 
the  red  lines  numbered  53,  starting  near  the  right-hand 
end  of  Plan  12. 

Position  53.  (Return.)  The  entire  lenfjtli  of  the 
gigantic  Temple  of  Amon  at  Karnah,  Thebes 

We  have  stood  here  before,  but  we  shall  now  be 
able  to  understand  the  relation  of  the  various  parts  as 
we  could  not  do  at  first  (Plan  12).  That  pylon  tower 
on  the  left  in  the  distance,  is  over  1,200  feet  away; 


Positions  60,  S3  (return).  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


243 


that  is,  this  gigantic  temple  is  nearly  a quarter  of  a 
mile  long.  Between  it  and  our  present  point  of  view 
are  the  additions  and  enlargements  of  1,800  years. 
What  would  you  think  of  a European  building  which 
had  been  1,800  years  in  course  of  construction?  Why, 
the  whole  span  of  European  history  is  scarcely  more 
than  2,500  years.  Here  in  these  expanding  halls  we 
see  embodied  the  career  of  the  Egyptian  nation,  dy- 
nasty after  dynasty,  till  it  closes  with  the  Ptolemies  in 
that  vast  pylon  nearly  a quarter  of  a mile  distant.  If 
you  will  look  beyond  the  queen’s  obelisk  you  will 
notice  that  none  of  the  columns  of  the  side  aisles  on 
that  side  is  visible.  That  is  where  they  fell  in 
October,  1899,  but  on  the  left  over  the  top  of  the 
queen’s  fallen  obelisk,  you  can  see  them  in  rank  on  rank. 
Just  behind  this  vacant  space,  behind  the  turbaned 
native,  where  the  original  chapel  of  Amon  stood,  is 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  exactly  in  a line  with  the  queen’s 
obelisk,  where  you  see  one  of  the  roofing  blocks  lying 
aslant  ready  to  fall  to  the  floor.  Those  few  blocks  that 
rise  just  this  side  of  the  queen’s  obelisk  are  a part  of 
the  fifth  pylon,  which  formed  the  rear  of  Thutmosis 
I’s  hypostyle  hall,  in  which  the  queen  erected  her 
obelisks.  After  she  had  thus  defaced  her  father’s  hall, 
Thutmosis  HI  would  not  attempt  to  restore  it,  nor 
was  he  willing  to  build  a new  hypostyle  in  front  of 
his  father’s  obelisks,  as  the  19th  Dynasty  later  did. 
He  therefore  built  a great  hall  here  in  the  rear  of  the 
temple,  with  many  adjacent  chambers,  and  a holy  of 
holies  of  his  own,  thus  really  bringing  the  front  of  the 
temple  to  this  end  and  inverting  it.  He  has  left  ex- 
tensive records  of  his  conquests  in  this  temple,  espe- 
cially a long  series  of  annals,  occupying  the  walls  of  a 
gallery  around  yonder  holy  of  holies.  On  our  extreme 


Position  53.  Maps  3,  8,  Plans  11,  12, 


244  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

left  in  the  middle  distance  are  some  of  his  small  chap- 
els, of  which  now  only  the  bottom  courses  remain. 
They  belonged  to  the  main  temple,  and  one  of  them 
was  devoted  to  the  service  of  his  ancestors,  and  con- 
tained a long  list  of  the  earlier  Pharaohs,  which  has 
since  been  removed  to  Paris,  where,  as  already  men- 
tioned, it  now  is  in  the  National  Library. 

We  shall  now  visit  one  or  two  of  the  more  important 
records  in  this  sanctuary,  which  will  show  us  what  a 
great  historical  volume  such  a temple  is.  We  shall  go 
first  to  some  inscriptions  not  far  away  to  our  right. 
See  the  lines  numbered  61  in  the  right-hand  portion  of 
Plan  12. 

I*osition  61.  Plants  and  animals  brought  to 
l^UVPl  fvom  the  Pharaoh’s  campaigns  in 
Syria,  Karnak,  Thebes 

This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  records  which 
Thutmosis  III  has  left  us  in  this  temple.  We  are  in 
a chamber  just  north  of  the  new  Holy  of  Holies  built 
by  Thutmosis  HI  in  the  rear  of  the  temple  (Plan  12). 
Here  he  has  had  his  artists  depict  upon  the  wall  the 
plants  and  animals  of  Palestine  and  Syria,  which  he 
brought  back  with  him  from  his  campaigns  there.  This 
is  the  oldest  collection  of  the  flora  and  fauna  of  these 
countries  in  the  world.  If  they  could  be  properly  col- 
lected, published  and  studied  by  specialists,  doubtless 
many  of  them  could  be  identified  with  the  life  still 
surviving  in  those  countries  at  the  present  day.  For 
here  they  are,  just  as  they  were  found  among  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  Palestine  nearly  3,500  years  ago.  At 
the  other  end,  now  out  of  our  range,  is  Thutmosis 
Ill’s  inscription  about  them;  he  says;  “Year  25,  Tinder 


Positions  53,  61.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


245 


the  majesty  of  the  king  of  Egypt,  Thutmosis  III,  liv- 
ing forever.  Plants  which  his  majesty  found  in  the 
land  of  Syria.  All  plants  that  grow,  all  flowers  that 
are  in  the  Divine  Land  (which  were  found  by)  his 
majesty,  when  his  majesty  proceeded  to  Syria  to  sub- 
due the  countries  according  to  the  command  of  his 
father,  Amon,  who  put  them  beneath  his  feet.  . . . 
His  majesty  said ; ‘I  swear  as  Re  loves  me,  as  my 
father  Amon  favors  me,  all  these  things  happened  in 
truth.  I have  not  written  fiction  as  that  which  really 

happened  to  my  majesty My  majesty  hath 

done  this  from  desire  to  put  them  before  my  father, 
Amon,  in  this  great  temple  of  Amon,  as  a memorial 
forever.’  ” And  they  are  still  a memorial  of  the  re- 
markable king  who  put  them  there.  How  the  men, 
women  and  children,  urchins  exactly  like  these  lads 
who  bring  us  our  drinking  water,  must  have  crowded 
the  streets  of  the  old  city,  now  lying  buried  all  around 
us,  to  see  these  strange  and  wonderful  products  of 
distant  lands,  which  their  king  had  now  conquered. 
And  with  what  interest  they  must  have  crept  into  the 
temple  gardens,  to  enjoy  them  there  around  the  now 
desolate  sacred  lake.  The  king  tells  us  that  on  his 
return  from  his  first  campaign  he  celebrated  no  less 
than  three  great  feasts  of  victory  in  this  temple,  and  it 
was  with  such  things  as  these  that  he  made  those  feasts 
splendid  and  marvelous  in  the  eyes  of  the  Theban 
multitudes.  Imagine  how  he  must  have  enriched  this 
temple  with  the  plunder  and  tribute  collected  during 
seventeen  campaigns  in  Asia. 

But  there  are  other  records  which  await  us  in  this 
great  building,  and  to  these  we  now  go.  Find  the 
lines  numbered  62  on  the  north  side  of  the  great  hypo- 
style  hall  on  Plan  12,  which  give  our  next  position. 


Position  61.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


246  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Position  62,  War  reliefs  of  Sethos  I,  on  the  north 
wall,  outside  the  Hypostyle  of  the  Karnah 
Temple,  Thebes 

What  splendid  action  the  ancient  sculptor  has 
caught  and  put  upon  this  wall ! We  can  almost  see 
these  battles  of  forgotten  wars  as  they  are  thus  de- 
picted before  us.  We  are  standing  outside  of  the 
great  hypostyle  of  Karnak,  looking  southward,  or 
nearly  so,  against  the  outside  of  the  north  wall,  as  you 
know  from  Plan  12.  Behind  this  wall  is  that  vast 
forest  of  columns,  which  we  have  already  viewed. 
The  wall  has  suffered  much,  and  several  blocks  are 
cut  out,  as  you  see.  In  three  rows,  one  above  tbe 
other,  Sethos  I,  whom  we  saw  in  the  flesh  at  Cairo,  the 
father  of  Ramses  II,  has  here  depicted  the  victories 

which  he  won  in  the  first  years  of  his  reign,  in  the 

middle  of  the  14th  century  B.  C.  The  top  row  is  al- 
most out  of  our  range  of  vision,  and  is  also 

very  fragmentary.  It  contained  his  war  in  Syria. 
This  is  also  the  theme  of  the  lowest  row, 

where  we  see  the  Pharaoh  with  drawn  bow, 
standing  erect  in  his  chariot,  as  he  charges  the 
fleeing  Hittites.  We  shall  be  able  to  follow  best  the 
middle  row,  in  which  Sethos  is  doing  battle  with  the 
Libyans,  who  have  crossed  the  northwestern  border 
and  invaded  the  Delta.  On  the  right  we  see  him  with 
the  reins  of  his  plumed  war-horses  tied  tightly  about 
his  waist,  as  he  urges  them  in  wild  career,  full  into 
the  ranks  of  the  enemy.  He  has  exhausted  his  ar- 
rows, and  holds  his  now  useless  bow  in  his  left  hand, 
while  in  his  uplifted  right,  he  grasps  the  heavy  bronze 
sword,  with  which  he  is  beating  down  the  Libyan 
chief,  who  has  dared  to  face  him.  The  Libyan  may 
be  recognized  by  the  two  feather  plumes  which  he 


Position  62.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


247 


wears  on  his  head.  On  the  left  in  the  same  row  is 
another  incident  in  the  battle,  where  Sethos,  now  dis- 
mounted from  his  chariot,  raises  on  high  the  javelin, 
with  which  he  is  about  to  transfix  the  Libyan  chief, 
whom  he  hurls  back  helpless  before  him.  This  is  one 
of  the  most  spirited  compositions  in  Egyptian  art, 
and  is  unsurpassed  by  anything  of  this  class  to  be  found 
before  the  sculpture  of  the  Greeks.  According  to  the 
canons  of  Egyptian  art,  the  king  must  be  represented 
of  heroic  stature,  towering  like  a giant  above  his 
enemies. 

Beneath  his  feet  in  this  last  scene  he  tramples 
an  enemy  whom  he  has  just  overthrown,  and  behind 
him  you  may  discern  the  figure  of  a young  prince, 
standing  between  Sethos’  leg  as  it  is  planted  upon  the 
head  of  his  fallen  enemy  and  the  half  chariot  wheel 
behind  him.  This  young  prince  is  Sethos’  son,  who 
afterward  became  Ramses  II.  But  a close  examina- 
tion shows  that  the  prince’s  figure  is  not  original,  and 
a minute  study,  though  you  may  not  be  able  to  make 
it  out  from  here,  demonstrates  that  Ramses’s  figure 
is  carved  over  that  of  another  prince,  which  is  also 
not  original.  We  thus  have  a most  interesting  bit  of 
oriental  romance  and  court  intrigue,  otherwise  long 
since  forgotten,  which  has  left  its  traces  on  this  wall. 
For  it  is  evident  that  after  Sethos  had  finished  these  re- 
liefs, his  eldest  son  and  heir  to  the  throne,  desired  to 
have  it  made  public  that  he  had  taken  part  in  this  bat- 
tle. He  therefore  caused  his  figure  to  be  inserted 
here  behind  his  father.  Whether  he  had  really  been 
present  in  the  battle  or  not,  is,  of  course,  uncertain. 
Then  there  arose  a conflict  between  this  crown  prince 
and  the  prince  Ramses,  each  plotting  against  the  other 
to  obtain  the  throne.  Ramses  was  successful,  and  at 


Po5ltion  62.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


248  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  first  opportunity  he  had  the  figure,  name  and  titles 
of  his  rival  erased  here,  and  inserted  his  own.  But  the 
erasure  was  carelessly  done,  and  sufficient  traces  re- 
main to  betray  the  whole  affair.  We  thus  see  how 
much  these  walls  have  to  tell  us  of  the  days  when 
Egypt  was  master  of  the  land  which  Israel,  just  at 
this  very  time,  was  going  up  to  possess.  But  Egypt’s 
hold  upon  Palestine  in  Sethos’  time  was  no  longer  as 
firm  as  in  the  days  two  centuries  earlier,  when  Thut- 
mosis  III  brought  back  from  there  those  plants  and 
animals  which  we  saw  but  a moment  since. 

We  are  now  going  to  view  a monument  of  the  days 
when  Egypt  had  long  since  lost  her  possessions  in 
Palestine.  It  is  found  on  the  south  side  of  this  great 
hall.  Find  the  lines  numbered  63  on  the  lower  left- 
hand  portion  of  Plan  12. 

Position  63.  Records  of  the  campaign  of  Shishak, 
who  captured  Jerusalem;  relief  at  Karnak, 
Thebes 

We  are  now  on  the  side  of  the  great  hypostyle,  oppo- 
site that  on  which  we  found  the  reliefs  of  Sethos  I ; that 
is,  we  are  south  of  it  and  looking  northward,  and  the 
wall  just  before  us  is  at  the  south  end  of  the  second 
pylon,  which  forms  the  front  of  the  great  hall  (Plan 
12).  Just  here  begins  the  huge  first  court  and  extends 
westward,  that  is,  toward  our  left,  with  all  the  additions 
that  followed  after  the  19th  Dynasty.  Thus  these  re- 
liefs before  us  belong  to  a period  long  after  that  of  the 
builders  of  the  great  hall.  They  were  put  here  by  King 
Sheshonk,  who  is  called  Shishak  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  first  king  of  the  22nd  Dynasty,  who  began 
to  reign  about  945  B.  C,  that  is,  at  about  the  time  of 
the  reign  of  Solomon.  He  desired  to  recover  Egypt’s 


Position  63.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


249 


conquests  in  Palestine,  which  had  been  lost  by  his 
predecessors,  and  the  Old  Testament  tells  us  how  he 
went  up  and  captured  Jerusalem  in  the  days  of  Solo- 
mon’s son,  Rehoboam.  It  says : “And  it  came  to  pass 
in  the  fifth  year  of  King  Rehoboam,  that  Shishak 
king  of  Egypt  came  up  against  Jerusalem : And 
he  took  away  the  treasures  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord,  and  the  treasures  of  the  king’s  house ; he 
even  took  away  all : and  he  took  away  all  the 

shields  of  gold  which  Solomon  had  made’’  (I  Kings 
xiv,  25-26).  In  Chronicles  it  is  stated  that  he  also 
“took  the  fenced  cities  which  p>ertained  to  Judah’’  (II 
Chron.  xii,  4).  Now  you  have  before  you  on  this 
wall  a list  of  those  very  cities.  Do  you  see  the  tall 
figure  to  which  the  native  in  the  white  garment  is 
pointing?  That  is  the  god  Amon,  the  great  god  of 
this  state  temple.  He  wears  two  tall  plumes  on  his 
head,  carries  a sword  in  his  extended  right  hand,  while 
with  his  left  he  grasps  a number  of  cords  which  you 
see  extending  backward  toward  his  body.  You  must 
think  of  those  cords  as  extending  across  his  body 
and  beyond  to  the  lines  of  captives  whom  you  see 
behind  him  in  long  rows,  beginning  at  about  the  level 
of  the  god’s  waist.  Each  captive  is  the  symbol  of  a 
city ; he  has  no  legs,  but  is  merely  a head  and  a pair 
of  pinioned  arms  attached  to  an  oval  containing  the 
name  of  the  city.  These  long  rows  of  ovals,  then, 
form  a list  of  the  cities  of  Palestine  which  Shishak 
captured  on  the  campaign  of  which  we  have  just  read, 
and  you  may  find  among  them  many  cities  spelled  out 
in  hieroglyphs,  which  are  also  mentioned  in  different 
places  in  the  Old  Testament.  The  most  interesting 
among  them  is  the  name  “The  Field  of  Abram,”  being 
the  earliest  known  occurrence  of  the  patriarch’s  name. 


Position  63.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


250  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

It  is  there  just  where  the  left  shoulder  of  the  native  in 
the  white  garment  cuts  into  the  list.  Amon  is  leading 
and  presenting  them'  all  to  the  king,  who,  in  having  the 
relief  this  made,  wishes  to  acknowledge  his  god  as  the 
source  of  his  victory.  The  figure  of  the  king  should 
occupy  that  vacant  space  which  you  see  on  the  ex- 
treme right.  For  some  reason  the  sculptor  was  unable 
to  finish  his  work,  and  the  figure  of  the  king  was  never 
inserted.  But  you  can  see  the  group  of  captives 
before  the  god,  kneeling  with  uplifted  hands  be- 
seeching mercy.  The  king  should  be  represented  as 
slaying  these  unfortunate  prisoners  in  the  presence  of 
his  god.  Such  representations  are  common  in  these 
Theban  temples,  so  that  we  know  just  how  this  one 
should  appear.  You  must  imagine  the  outstretched 
hand  of  the  king  as  occupying  that  vacant  space  just 
over  the  heads  of  the  kneeling  victims,  and  grasping 
them  by  the  hair,  as  he  brandishes  a huge  war  mace 
or  sword,  with  which  he  is  about  to  dispatch  them. 
The  inscriptions  above  this  group  before  the  god  con- 
tain the  names  and  fulsome  titles  of  King  Shishak, 
while  those  immediately  before  the  god’s  face  and 
behind  him  over  the  list  of  cities  contain  the  words 
of  the  god  as  he  presents  the  cities  to  Shishak  and 
promises  him  victory  over  his  enemies. 

We  have  read  but  a few  pages  in  this  great  histor- 
ical volume  preserved  on  the  walls  of  the  temple  of 
Karnak,  and  if  we  should  attempt  to  read  them  all, 
it  would  require  many  volumes  of  the  size  of  this  one. 
But  these  examples  will  suffice  to  indicate  the  char- 
acter, at  least  of  some  of  them ; and  we  must  now  leave 
the  east  of  the  river  and  go  back  to  the  west 
shore,  from  the  cliffs  of  which  you  will  remember 


Position  63.  Maps  3,  8.  Plans  11,  12. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


251 


we  enjoyed  our  first  view  of  Thebes  (Position  47). 
First  we  shall  go  to  the  colossi  of  Memnon,  which 
we  saw  from  Position  47.  This  next  position  is 
given  on  Map  9,  which  you  will  see  is  a portion  of 
Map  8 on  a larger  scale.  Find  the  lines  numbered 
64,  which  start  near  the  middle  of  the  lower  margin 
and  extend  toward  the  north. 

Position  6*4.  Colossal  Memnon”  statues  at  Thebes 
— the  farther  one  used  to  utter  a cry  at  sun- 
rise 

Thebes  was  the  goal  of  many  an  idle  tourist  in  the 
days  of  Roman  power,  as  she  is  now,  and  we  have 
before  us  one  of  her  chief  attractions  both  then  and 
now — the  vocal  statue  of  Memnon.  We  have  now 
crossed  the  river  and  are  looking  nearly  due  north, 
with  Luxor  on  our  right,  the  western  cliffs  on  our 
left,  but  sweeping  out  into  view  in  our  front  and 
flanking  the  Ramesseum,  the  columns  of  which  are  just 
within  our  range  in  the  distance,  on  the  right  (Maps 
8 and  9).  Flere  once  stood  a noble  temple,  erected  by 
Amenophis  III,  and  the  two  colossal  statues  before 
us  adorned  its  front,  as  we  have  seen  them  before 
the  pylons  at  Luxor  and  Karnak.  Of  that  temple 
there  have  survived  only  a few  blocks  some  hundreds 
of  feet  behind  these  statues.  It  was  wrecked  by 
Memeptah  (or  Merenptah),  the  son  of  Ramses  II,  in 
order  to  secure  material  for  his  own  temple  a quarter 
of  a mile  behind  the  colossi.  The  temple  built  with 
the  materials  secured  in  this  contemptible  manner 
has  likewise  perished.  Among  other  things  which 
Memeptah  removed  from  this  temple  for  his  own 
building  was  the  magnificent  stela  which  you  saw 
in  the  museum  at  Cairo,  containing  a record  of 


Positions  63,  64.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


252  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Amenophis  Ill’s  buildings  for  the  gods.  You  will 
remember  that  Merneptah  turned  its  face  to  the 
wall  and  inscribed  upon  the  back  the  record  of 
his  victory  over  the  Libyans,  in  which  he  inci- 
dentally mentions  Israel  (Position  14).  This,  then, 
is  the  spot  where  that  remarkable  stela  stood,  be- 
fore it  was  appropriated  by  Merneptah.  These  great 
statues,  which  have  made  this  place  famous  since  the 
Romans  first  occupied  Egypt,  are  of  red  sandstone, 
a very  hard  conglomerate,  often  called  gritstone,  which 
is  found  in  a hill  on  the  northeast  of  Cairo,  called  by 
the  Arabs  “Gebel  el-Ahmar,”  that  is,  “the  red  moun- 
tain.” From  this  quarry  these  huge  masses  of  stone 
were  towed  up  the  river  to  Thebes.  With  the  pedestal 
they  are  now  about  65  feet  high,  but  they  have  lost 
their  crowns,  which  would  have  made  them  nearly 
70  feet  high.  Each  statue  proper  is  of  one  block,  the 
base  upon  which  it  rests  being  a separate  piece.  You 
are  objecting  to  this  remark  and  calling  attention  to 
the  blocks  of  which  the  upper  part  of  the  further 
statue  is  built.  That  is  true,  but  that  work  was  done 
by  the  Roman  emperor  Septimius  Severus  (193-211 
A.  D.),  a restoration  which  was  a misfortune  for  the 
Thebans,  as  we  shall  see.  When  Amenophis  III  set  up 
these  giants  in  the  14th  century  B.  C.,  they  were  in- 
tended as  portraits  of  himself,  as  all  such  colossi  are 
royal  portraits.  Over  three  thousand  years  of  storm  and 
weather  have  passed  over  them,  until  the  features 
have  utterly  vanished,  and  their  artistic  value  is  gone. 
Meanwhile,  the  soil  of  the  plain  around  them  has  risen 
over  six  feet  by  gradual  accumulation,  which,  with 
the  loss  of  the  crowns,  much  reduces  the  height  of  the 
statues.  Then  the  earthquake  in  27  B.  C.  overthrew 
the  upper  portion  of  the  further  colossus,  and  shortly 


Position  64.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


253 


after  that  it  was  noticed  that  this  statue  emitted  a cry 
every  morning  at  sunrise,  or  shortly  after.  The  Greek 
residents  of  Egypt  immediately  averred  that  the  figure 
must  be  that  of  Memnon,  the  famous  son  of  Eos,  the 
dawn.  He  had  fallen  in  the  Trojan  war,  and  now, 
said  they,  he  here  greets  his  mother  with  every  re- 
turning morning.  Visitors  came  in  great  numbers 
to  hear  the  sound,  and  scores  of  foreigners  have  left 
records  of  the  fact  in  inscriptions  on  the  great  statue. 
Men  of  the  highest  rank  have  thus  left  memorials  of 
such  a visit,  including  the  emperor  Hadrian,  who  trav- 
eled in  Egypt  in  130  A.  D.  In  his  reign  no  less  than 
twenty-seven  people  left  inscriptions  here.  With  one 
exception  these  inscriptions  are  in  Greek  and  Latin, 
and  they  run  from  the  11th  year  of  Nero  (54-68 
A.  D.)  to  the  restoration  under  Septimius  Severus, 
when  the  noises  ceased.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
the  statue  actually  emitted  a sound,  as  these  numerous 
witnesses  testify,  and  it  has  been  proven  that  stone 
such  as  this  conglomerate,  when  expanding  rapidly, 
does  give  forth  a ringing,  metallic  sound.  As  the  in- 
creasing heat  of  the  morning  sun  beat  upon  the  statue 
it  rapidly  expanded,  after  having  cooled  all  night,  and 
in  so  doing  the  sounds  which  so  many  visitors  heard 
were  produced. 

At  high  Nile  the  plain  all  around  us  is  flooded,  and 
you  see  that  these  peasants  plow  and  cultivate  their 
fields  to  the  very  bases  of  the  colossi.  They  consider 
it  a great  misfortune  that  the  statues  are  here,  for  as 
the  winter  advances  and  the  crowds  of  modern  tourists 
increase,  a broad  pathway  is  trampled  through  their 
fields  all  the  way  from  the  river  to  this  spot,  and  they 
complain  bitterly  as  they  see  their  crops  crushed  under 
the  feet  of  a host  of  visitors  all  around  the  statues. 


Position  64.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


254  EGYPT  THROUGPI  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

See  how  impressively  the  western  cliffs  rise  between 
the  two  giants.  Those  long  rows  of  tomb  doors  mark 
the  resting-places  of  the  great  Thebans,  who  lived  in 
the  days  when  these  statues  were  set  up;  and  among 
them  is  the  tomb  of  the  very  architect  who  erected 
them.  The  sands  of  the  desert  that  lie  behind  have 
drifted  in  athwart  the  face  of  the  cliffs  in  vast  masses 
like  great  drifts  of  snow,  and  scores  of  tombs  are  thus 
covered  awaiting  the  excavator. 

Now  we  shall  wend  our  way  across  this  plain  to  that 
mass  of  ruins  in  the  distance  to  our  extreme  right, 
the  Ramesseum.  This  position  is  given  by  the  lines 
numbered  65,  which  start  in  the  lower  center  of  Map 
9 and  extend  north.  This  position  is  also  gfiven  on 
a detailed  plan  of  the  Ramesseum  (Plan  13). 

Position  65.  The  Pamessenrn,  moi’tnary  temitle  of 
Ramses  II— northwest  toivard  the  tombs  in  the 
cliffs,  Thebes 

Here  we  look  upon  the  remains  of  our  first  temple 
on  the  west  side  of  Thebes.  The  Memnon  colossi  are 
now  upon  our  left  and  a little  behind  us,  Luxor  is 
directly  behind  us,  while  before  us  rise  the  cliffs  that 
flank  the  western  plain  of  Thebes  (Map  8).  We  are 
looking  nearly  down  the  axis  of  the  temple,  which,  as 
you  will  see  by  reference  to  Plan  13,  is  almost  in  a 
northwest-southeast  line ; but  we  usually  treat  these 
temples  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  as  if  they  faced 
exactly  east,  which  makes  reference  to  the  compass 
much  easier.  We  are  therefore  standing  at  the  east 
end  of  the  temple  and  looking  toward  its  western  end, 
that  is,  the  rear  of  the  building.  What  a sad  ruin ! 
For  centuries  it  served  as  a quarry  and  was  still  so 


Positions  64,  65.  Maps  3,  8,  9,  Plan  13. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  255 

used  far  down  into  the  19th  century ; and  this,  fol- 
lowing upon  the  ruin  of  earthquake  and  the  havoc 
of  war,  has  almost  wrecked  the  noble  temple.  You 
find  difficulty  in  tracing  any  plan  at  all,  or  cuiy  relation 
of  the  parts  because  it  is  so  fragmentary  and  scattered. 
We  are  standing  upon  the  southern  tower  of  the  first 
pylon  (see  Plan  13)  ; the  central  aisle  leading  from 
front 'to  rear  is  here  on  our  right,  and  that  vast  co- 
lossus on  the  extreme  right,  with  a native  in  a snow- 
white  garment  mounted  upon  it,  is  lying  obliquely 
across  the  aisle.  Just  behind  it  and  extending  out  of 
range  on  the  right,  you  may  see  the  tower  of  the  sec- 
ond pylon  on  the  other  side  of  the  aisle;  the  other 
tower  of  the  same  pylon,  on  this  side  of  the  aisle,  has 
been  quarried  away,  and  only  the  lower  courses  of 
the  base  remain,  against  which  the  figure  of  this  lower 
native  is  outlined.  If  that  tower  were  still  standing  it 
would  cut  off  all  our  present  view  of  the  rear  of  the 
building.  Again  you  can  locate  the  central  aisle  by 
the  base  of  the  overturned  colossus ; for  the  colossus 
once  stood  upon  that  huge  rectangular  block  near  us, 
on  our  extreme  right,  with  half  a dozen  rough  frag- 
ments scattered  over  its  top.  Passing  down  the  aisle 
toward  the  rear,  one  has  that  block  on  his  left  (see 
plan),  and  you  see  how  the  fallen  giant  bars  all  further 
progress  in  that  direction.  In  the  rear  it  is  much 
easier  to  determine  the  aisle,  for  you  find  there  a col- 
onnaded hall,  a hyjK>style  like  that  at  Kamak,  and 
under  that  higher  section  of  roof  in  the  middle  we 
must  of  course  locate  the  central  aisle,  between  a 
double  row  of  taller  columns,  crowned  by  flower  cap- 
itals on  either  side,  which  is  exactly  what  you  observe 
there.  You  can  discern  also  the  shorter  columns, 
with  bud  capitals  on  the  right  and  left  of  the  central 


Position  65.  Maps  3,  8,  9.  Plan  13. 


256  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

aisle,  precisely  as  we  found  them  at  Kamak.  Now  I 
think  you  can  easily  trace  the  aisle  from  front  to  rear. 
Yonder  hypostyle  was  preceded  by  two  successive 
courts,  which  you  can  best  place  by  examining  the 
plan  (No.  13).  There  was  a colonnade  at  the  left 
side  of  the  “first  court,”  and  you  see  the  bases  of  the 
columns  belonging  to  it  down  at  our  feet  on  the  left. 
If  you  attempt  to  follow  the  middle  aisle,  the  entrance 
to  the  “second  court”  is,  as  we  have  seen,  barred  by 
the  fallen  colossus ; but  the  destruction  of  the  left 
tower  of  the  second  pylon  enables  us  to  gain  a full 
view  of  this  court.  It  was  surrounded  by  a col- 
onnaded portico,  but  in  front  and  rear,  next  to  the  court, 
we  find  a row  of  Osiris  pillars,  each  pillar  having 
carved  on  its  front  a statue  of  Osiris,  standing  with 
crossed  arms  and  holding  the  scourge  and  crookstaff 
as  the  symbols  of  his  dominion.  Four  of  the  Osiris 
figures  off  there  to  our  right  serve  to  mark  the  rear 
of  the  court  for  us,  and  immediately  to  the  right  of 
the  native  on  the  colossus  you  note  the  shoulder  of  one 
of  the  Osiris  columns,  behind  the  second  pylon,  form- 
ing the  front  of  the  court.  The  corresponding  figures 
on  the  left  of  the  second  court  have  been  entirely  de- 
stroyed. But  you  can  see  where  they  should  be,  if 
you  will  note  upon  Plan  13,  the  three  low  flights  of 
steps  which  lead  from  the  second  court,  through  the 
portico  to  the  hypostyle  hall.  Turning  again  to  the 
temple,  you  will  observe  in  the  second  court  the  left- 
hand  flight,  which  should  pass  between  the  last  two 
Osiris  pillars  on  the  left.  The  middle  flight  you  must 
place  just  on  the  left  of  the  group  of  four  Osiris  fig- 
ures still  standing  on  the  right,  while  the  right-hand 
flight  passes  between  the  further  two  of  these,  but  is 
hidden  from  our  view  by  the  fallen  colossus.  When 


Position  65.  Maps  3,  8,  9.  Pian  13. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


257 


we  have  viewed  all  this  from  the  rear  also,  it  will  come 
out  more  clearly,  and  you  can  return  here  and  pick  out 
the  parts  again. 

The  purpose  of  this  temple,  like  that  now  vanished 
building  behind  the  Memnon  colossi,  was  different 
from  that  of  the  temples  which  we  have  seen  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river.  Do  you  remember  that  chapel 
in  the  east  front  of  the  mastaba  ? And  again,  the  tem- 
ple on  the  east  side  of  each  of  the  pyramids?  Well, 
these  temples  on  the  west  side  at  Thebes  are  for  pre- 
cisely the  same  purpose  and  occupy  the  same  position 
with  relation  to  the  tombs  of  the  dead.  The  Pharaohs 
of  the  Empire,  as  we  shall  see,  no  longer  built 
pyramids,  but  hewed  out  vast  tombs  in  a valley  behind 
yonder  cliffs,  and  here  to  the  east  of  those  cliff  tombs, 
as  once  they  were  east  of  the  pyramids,  are  the  royal 
mortuary  temples.  But  they  have  now  developed 
from  a chapel  of  rather  modest  dimensions,  to  a mag- 
nificent sanctuary  comparable  to  the  great  state  tem- 
ple on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  This  now  desolate 
and  forsaken  temple  was  maintained  by  splendid  en- 
dowments established  by  the  king  for  that  purpose. 
Those  low  mounds  which  yoti  see  just  beyond  the 
temple,  on  the  left  of  the  hypostyle  hall  and  on  the 
right  of  the  four  Osiris  columns,  cover  great  store- 
houses in  which  the  temple  income  in  wine,  oil,  honey, 
grain,  vegetables,  textiles,  gold,  silver  and  costly 
stones  was  stored,  and  there  you  may  pick  up  to  this 
day,  the  seals  from  the  wine,  oil  or  honey  jars,  bear- 
ing the  name  of  Ramses  II,  just  as  they  were  broken 
from  the  jars  by  the  temple  steward  in  the  days  when 
the  Hebrews  were  sojourning  in  the  land.  All  this 
was  intended  to  ensure  the  Pharaoh  just  such  food, 
drink  and  clothing  after  death  as  he  had  enjoyed  while 


Position  65.  Maps  3,  8,  9.  Plan  13. 


258  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

king  of  Egypt.  Thus  he  was  here  long  worshiped  as 
a god. 

You  have  already  noticed  the  roof  of  the  central 
aisle,  out  yonder  over  the  hypostyle.  We  shall  now 
stand  out  there  upon  that  roof  and  look  this  way  to- 
ward our  present  position  on  the  first  pylon.  But 
before  we  go,  glance  once  more  at  the  cliff  behind  the 
temple,  for  when  we  have  finished  our  inspection  of 
this  building  we  shall  go  up  yonder  among  those 
tombs  and  examine  the  interior  of  one  of  the  best  pre- 
served, of  which  you  see  so  many  openings.  As  we 
are  now  looking  somewhat  west  of  north,  with  the 
Nile  to  our  right  and  behind  us,  we  shall  next  be 
looking  southeast  toward  the  river.  Find  the  lines 
numbered  66,  which  start  near  the  centre  of  Map  8, 
and  extend  southeast,  and  you  will  see  that  we  are  to 
be  looking  over  the  river  to  Luxor  on  the  southeast 
bank.  . See  Plan  13  also. 

Position  66.  From  the  roof  of  the  Ramesseum  past 
the  fallen  Colossus  of  Ramses  II,  southeast 
over  the  Plain  of  Thebes 

Here,  you  see,  we  are  practically  reversing  our  po- 
sition of  a moment  ago,  when  we  stood  on  yonder 
pylon  at  the  extreme  right  end  and  looked  up  here 
toward  the  hypostyle  that  is  now  beneath  our  feet 
(Plan  13).  This  is  an  admirable  point  for  locating 
the  temple  with  reference  to  the  other  shore,  for  as 
we  look  up  the  axis  of  the  building  we  see  that  the 
white  front  of  the  hotel  at  Luxor,  on  the  other  side  of 
the  river,  is  almost  in  a line  with  it.  The  river  flows, 
as  you  know,  directly  in  front  of  that  hotel,  off  to  our 
left  or  the  northeast,  but  we  cannot  see  it  from  here. 


Positions  65,  66.  Maps  3,  8.  Pian  13, 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


259 


as  our  point  of  view  is  not  sufficiently  elevated.  Out 
of  range  on  the  left  is  Karnak,  and  behind  us  are,  of 
course,  the  cliffs,  which  we  have  so  often  seen  forming 
our  western  sky-line.  Under  our  feet  is  that  central 
aisle,  which  we  saw  from  the  first  pylon,  and  this  native 
here  on  the  right  is  sitting  on  an  extending  archi- 
trave which  supports  the  roof  beneath  us.  He  is 
swinging  his  feet  over  the  lower  roof,  which  covers 
the  side  aisles  immediately  behind  us.  The  vacant 
space  before  us  is  the  second  court,  with  its  Osiris 
columns  in  front  and  rear  (see  Plan  13)  ; those  in  front 
now  face  us,  and  of  the  four  in  the  rear,  which  we 
saw  from  the  pylon,  you  can  discern  only  the  arm  or 
elbow  of  one,  projecting  from  behind  the  ’pillar  down 
here  on  our  left.  The  first  court  now  becomes  more 
clear,  as  we  see  the  first  pylon  which  forms  its  front. 
Through  the  door,  half  choked  with  fallen  masonry, 
appears  a peasant  just  riding  past  on  a donkey,  as  he 
goes  to  superintend  one  of  those  numerous  threshing 
floors  scattered  over  the  plain  between  us  and  the 
buildings  of  Luxor.  This  face  of  the  pylon,  though 
you  cannot  distinguish  them  from  here,  is  occupied 
by  enormous  reliefs,  depicting  Ramses  II  at  the  fa- 
mous battle  of  Kadesh,  the  same  scene  which  we  found 
also  at  Luxor.  And  there,  with  his  giant  head  re- 
posing directly  in  the  middle  aisle,  is  that  colossal 
statue  of  the  same  king,  the  builder  of  this  temple.  In 
the  year  1300  B.  C.  it  towered  grandly  above  the 
pylons,  and  might  have  been  seen  far  across  the 
plain,  but  it  has  long  lain  as  you  see  it  now,  a prey  to 
the  neighboring  peasants  who  have  broken  it  up  for 
mill-stones.  You  will  recognize  its  parts,  in  so  far  as 
they  have  survived,  if  you  note  that  the  native  is  stand- 
ing on  the  forehead.  Tlie  rest  of  the  face  is  obliterated. 


Position  66.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  13. 


260  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

but  you  can  clearly  see  the  band  around  the  forehead 
in  front  of  the  native’s  feet.  The  projection  on  the 
right  of  the  head  is  the  heavy  head-dress  of  linen, 
worn  so  commonly  by  the  kings,  and  hanging  down 
upon  the  right  shoulder,  which  is  still  well  preserved. 
You  saw  the  same  head-dress  on  the*  statue  of  Khafre 
in  the  Cairo  Museum  (Position  10).  On  the  right 
arm  just  below  the  shoulder  you  discern  the  royal 
cartouche  or  oval  containing  the  name  of  the  king; 
but  you  are  not  able  to  follow  the  arm  down  to  the 
elbow,  as  the  whole  figure,  arms  and  all,  is  broken  off 
just  below  the  breast.  But  you  can  discern  the  elbow 
on  the  great  mass  of  the  trunk,  beyond  the  huge  frac- 
ture, and  even  trace  the  beginning  of  the  forearm. 
The  figure  was  seated  like  the  Memnon  colossi,  with 
both  hands  on  the  knees,  and  as  it  here  lies  on  its  back 
the  vast  legs  should  rise  to  the  front  of  the  throne 
block,  as  its  front  would  now  be  the  upper  side ; but 
both  legs  and  throne  are  now  missing.  It  is  21|  feet 
across  those  gigantic  shoulders,  the  arm  above  the 
elbow  is  4 feet  9 inches  thick,  and  judging  from  the 
dimensions,  the  figure  must  have  been  about  57^  feet 
high,  which  makes  it  the  largest  statue  in  Egy'pt,  as 
we  must  deduct  the  bases  from  the  height  of  the 
Memnon  colossi. 

We  have  seen  (Position  60)  the  obelisks  of  Queen 
Makere,  weighing  some  350  tons,  but  here  we  have 
a figure  cut  from  a single  block,  and  weighing  when 
finished  over  800  tons.  Yet  that  figure,  being  of 
Assuan  granite,  was  brought  down  the  Nile  from  the 
first  cataract;  and  this  same  king  accomplished  a still 
more  remarkable  feat.  For  Petrie  found  in  the  ruins 
of  the  Delta  city  of  Tanis  the  scanty  fragments  of  a 
red  granite  colossus,  almost  certainly  belonging  to 


Position  66.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  13. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


261 


Ramses  II,  which  must  have  been  about  92  feet  high 
and  weighed  some  900  tons.  The  French  expedition  of 
Napoleon  I found  no  less  than  eighteen  of  these 
colossi  on  this  west  side  of  the  river  alone,  although, 
of  course,  they  were  not  all  as  large  as  this  of  Ramses 
or  those  of  Amenophis  III,  the  Memnon  colossi. 

Let  us  now  turn  around  more  to  the  right  and  look 
from  this  fallen  giant  to  its  fellows  out  yonder  on 
the  plain.  See  the  lines  numbered  67,  starting  near 
the  centre  of  Map  8.  Comparison  with  the  lines  num- 
bered 66,  starting  from  the  same  point,  shows  more 
definitely  how  much  more  toward  the  south  we  are 
about  to  look.  This  position  is  given  also  on  Map  9. 


Position  67.  Plain  of  Thebes  and  the  Colossi  of 
Memnon  seen  at  the  south  from  the  roof  of 
the  Ramesseum,  Thebes 

We  have  stepped  back  a little  from  our  former  posi- 
tion, and  turned  toward  the  south  (the  right),  and 
we  are  now  looking  directly  southward  toward  the 
colossi  of  Amenophis  III  (Map  9).  The  trees  which 
form  that  broken  line  against  the  faint  background  of 
the  distant  eastern  cliffs  mark  the  course  of  the  river, 
whose  shores  they  fringe.  Hence  Luxor  is  now  out 
of  range  of  vision  on  the  left,  while  the  western  cliffs 
are  on  our  right  outside  of  our  prospect.  The  level 
fields  are  dotted  here  and  there  with  threshing  floors, 
and  in  the  grove  of  acacias  before  us  is  the  favorite 
well  of  all  the  neighboring  herdsmen.  Yonder  in 
the  midst  of  the  broad  plain  are  the  solitary  colossi, 
looking  out  upon  the  Nile  as  they  have  done  for  nearly 
3,500  years.  At  a considerable  distance  behind  them, 
you  notice  a low,  dark  mass,  just  in  line  with  a heap 


Positions  66,  67.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


262  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

of  white  straw  from  one  of  the  threshing  floors.  That 
dark  pile  is  all  that  remains  of  the  temple  that  once 
stood  behind  the  colossi,  where  now  you  see  the  level 
fields.  There  lies  a huge  slab  with  an  inscription  de- 
scribing the  temple  and  dedicating  it  to  Amon,  and 
marking,  as  it  states,  the  place  where  the  king  stood 
in  the  performance  of  the  temple  ritual.  The  founda- 
tions of  the  building  are  undoubtedly  still  there  under 
the  accumulated  .Nile  def>osits  at  least  six  feet  deep; 
but  they  have  never  been  excavated.  There  is  no 
doubt  but  that  excavations  on  this  spot  would  bring 
many  inscriptions  and  other  important  monuments  to 
light.  The  territory  between  us  and  the  colossi  was 
excavated  by  Petrie,  resulting  in  the  discovery  of  the 
remains  of  the  temples  of  Thutmosis  IV,  Queen 
Tewosret,  and  Merneptah,  who  destroyed  the  temple 
of  Amenophis  III  behind  the  colossi  for  his  building 
materials,  as  we  have  before  noted.  They  stood  out 
here  on  ground  just  out  of  range  on  our  right,  but 
they  have  now  vanished,  so  that  Petrie  was  able  only  to 
follow  the  ground  plan. 

Here  at  our  feet,  as  we  stand  upon  the  higher  roof 
of  the  central  aisle  of  the  Ramesseum,  are  the  roofing 
blocks  of  the  side  aisles  on  the  south  side  of  the  hy- 
postyle.  Our  native  servant  has  thrown  himself  down 
full  length  upon  them,  regardless  of  the  broiling  sun 
and  the  fact  that  the  roof  is  heated  through  and 
through  by  the  suns  of  countless  tropical  days,  until 
it  glows  like  a furnace,  and  the  hand  shrinks  from 
touching  it.  With  myriads  of  flies  swarming  into 
his  eyes  and  ears  he  slumbers  peacefully  while  we 
make  our  observations  from  the  roof  of  the  temple. 
Incidentally  he  makes  a very  good  standard  for  meas- 
uring these  roofing  blocks ; disregarding  his  out- 


Posltlon  67.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


263 


Stretched  arms,  the  block  on  which  he  lies  is  nearly 
four  times  his  length,  so  that  we  may  call  it  some  18 
to  19  feet  in  length.  If  we  return  to  Position  65  to 
look  at  this  hall  from  the  first  pylon  again,  bear  this 
fact  in  mind  and  it  will  much  increase  your  apprecia- 
tion of  the  size  of  the  building  as  a whole.  And  as 
you  do  so  look  up  again  at  the  cliffs  behind  the  tem- 
ple, for  among  the  tombs  and  in  one  of  the  tomb 
chambers  up  there  we  shall  now  make  a short  visit. 

Our  next  position  and  field  of  vision  are  determined 
by  the  lines  numbered  68,  which  start  near  the  centre  of 
Map  9,  and  branch  toward  the  lower  left-hand  comer 
or  toward  the  south. 

Position  68.  Looking  south  over  the  Thehan  Plain 
and  the  temples  of  Medinet  Habu,  from  the 
cemetery  of  Ahd  el-Euma 

We  have  climbed  the  western  cliffs  and  stand  in 
the  midst  of  the  innumerable  tomb  openings  which  we 
saw  from  the  Ramesseum  below.  This  particular 
locality  is  known  to  the  natives  as  Shekh  Abd  el- 
Kurna,  and  you  will  find  it  so  called  near  the  centre  of 
Map  9.  We  look  almost  due  south,  but  a little  west 
of  south,  and  just  over  the  head  of  the  native  sitting 
on  the  sfiur  of  rock  you  see  the  mass  of  buildings 
making  up  the  group  of  Medinet  Habu,  which  we  are 
to  visit  soon.  We  shall  later  return  to  this  spot  and 
examine  the  details  of  this  beautiful  landscape ; now 
we  shall  merely  locate  ourselves  and  the  tomb  which 
we  are  to  visit.  Behind  us  is  Der  el-Bahri,  which  we 
have  not  yet  visited,  on  our  left  Karnak  and  the  river, 
flanking  the  plain  over  which  we  have  come  (Map  8). 
The  southern  extension  of  that  plain  is  before  us. 


Positions  67,  68.  Maps  3,  9. 


264  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Here  at  our  feet  are  a few  of  the  tombs  with  which 
this  cemetery  is  filled.  You  observe  that  the  face  of 
the  cliff  has  been  smoothed  and  so  cut  in  as  to  pro- 
duce a perpendicular  wall,  with  a court  in  front.  In 
the  middle  of  the  perpendicular  wall  is  a door  leading 
to  the  chapel  chamber  of  the  tomb,  which  is  excavated 
in  the  solid  rock.  It  was  these  doors  which  you  saw 
in  long  rows  from  the  Ramesseum  pylon  a little  while 
ago.  In  front  of  the  forecourt,  Theban  gentlemen  of 
wealth  were  accustomed  to  lay  out  a garden  in  which 
the  deceased  was  supposed  to  divert  himself,  lying 
about  under  the  trees  and  enjoying  himself  as  he  had 
been  accustomed  to  do  in  his  gardcY*  down  in  the  city. 
There  was  not  always  room  for  such  an  addition,  but 
in  some  cases  it  must  have  been  of  considerable  size, 
for  the  architect  who  put  up  those  obelisks  of  Thut- 
mosis  I tells  us  how  many  trees  he  had  in  his  tomb 
garden,  and  all  the  various  kinds ; and  they  were  so 
numerous  that  they  must  have  formed  a fine  grove. 
Here  all  around  us,  then,  sleep  the  great  of  ancient 
Thebes ; or  we  should  more  fittingly  say  slept,  for 
these  tombs  have  all,  with  rare  exceptions,  been 
robbed  in  antiquity. 

The  particular  tomb  which  we  shall  next  visit  is 
yonder  over  this  spur  of  rock  on  which  these  natives 
are  perched ; its  entrance  at  present,  owing  to  the  de- 
bris gathered  about  it,  is  a mere  hole  in  the  ground, 
like  that  one  which  you  see  over  the  head  of  the  stand- 
ing Egyptian.  Our  tomb  opening  is  very  close  to 
that  one,  but  is  not  quite  in  range  from  our  present 
standpoint.  We  shall  presently  stand  in  the  tomb 
chapel  which  has  so  long  served  as  the  abode  of  an 
Egyptian  officer,  who  lived  in  the  16th  century  B.  C. 


Po5itlon  68.  Maps  3,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


265 


Position  69.  Painted  tomb  chamber  of  Prince 
Sennofer,  hetvn  in  the  rock  of  the  western 
cliffs,  Thebes 

Could  you  not  believe  that  these  colors  Avere  laid  on 
yesterday?  Yet  it  is  3,500  years  since  the  artist  who 
painted  this  chamber  stood  where  you  and  I stand  now 
and  looked  over  his  work  for  the  last  time  before  turn- 
ing it  over  to  its  owner.  We  are  stationed  at  one  side 
of  a nearly  square  chamber,  the  ceiling  of  which  is 
supported  by  four  massive  pillars,  two  of  which  are 
just  out  of  range  on  the  right.  The  whole  is  hewn 
out  of  the  western  cliffs,  like  the  tombs  which  we  saw 
at  Benihasan  and  Assiut.  Its  purpose  and  function 
are  the  same  as  we  have  found  before  in  the  mastaba 
chapels,  the  pyramid  chapels,  and  the  rock-hewn  cham- 
bers at  Assiut  or  Benihasan.  This  is  the  room  where 
the  deceased  lives  and  receives  food  and  drink  from  his 
surviving  relatives  and  descendants.  Hence  the  char- 
acter of  these  paintings.  The  owner  is  everywhere 
depicted,  receiving,  from  a lady  standing  before  him, 
such  offerings  as  the  Egyptian  delighted  in.  Let  us 
see  if  we  can  ascertain  who  the  couple  are.  On  the 
first  pillar  at  our  left  you  see  the  noble  owner,  seated 
in  a wooden  chair,  the  legs  of  which  represent  those 
of  a lion.  He  is  receiving  from  the  lady  a necklace 
which  she  presents  upon  a little  tray  or  shallow  dish. 
Now  the  ancient  artist  has  not  left  us  in  doubt  regard- 
ing the  person  for  whom  this  gift  is  intended.  He  did 
not  do  this  for  our  benefit,  for  his  mind  was  as  far 
from  thinking  about  us  as  we  are  from  any  thought  of 
the  distant  people  who  may  some  day  excavate  our 
capital  at  Washington,  and  speculate  upon  the  probable 
height  of  the  fallen  Washington  monument.  He  put 
that  inscription  over  the  man’s  figure,  in  order  that 


V 


Position  69.  Maps  3,  9. 


266  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

this  scene  might  be  for  the  benefit  of  this  man  alone. 
The  magical  charms  pronounced  over  this  painting, 
as  well  as  all  the  others,  have  lent  it  a subtle  virtue,  by 
force  of  which,  in  the  belief  of  the  Egyptian,  the  de- 
ceased was  continually,  daily  and  repeatedly,  actually 
receiving  the  gift  here  depicted.  If  his  name  were 
not  there  the  virtue  and  value  of  the  scene  might  not 
be  enjoyed  by  him  alone.  Hence  we  are  able  to  read 
his  name  and  titles  over  every  one  of  these  paintings, 
and  over  his  figure  on  this  first  pillar  we  read : “The 
hereditary  prince,  enduring  in  favor,  great  in  love, 
favorite  of  the  excellent  heart  of  the  king,  prince  in 
the  Southern  City  (Thebes),  overseer  of  the  garden 
of  Amon,  Sen-nofer,  deceased.”  The  lady  before  him 
is  likewise  designated  in  the  inscription  above  her  fig- 
ure : “His  beloved  sister,  the  musician  of  Amon, 
Meryt,  deceased.”  This  lady,  called  his  sister,  was 
also  his  wife,  as  the  Egj^ptians  commonly  married 
their  sisters.  On  the  other  pillar,  where  Sen-nofer  sits 
upon  a camp-stool  under  the  two  sacred  eyes,  she  is 
presenting  him  with  a bolt  of  fine  linen  and  a lotus 
flower,  which  she  holds  to  his  nose  for  his  enjoyment. 
On  the  right  side  of  the  same  pillar  the  two  are  con- 
versing together,  and  on  the  side  wall  which  you  see 
between  the  two  pillars  they  appear  again  in  an  arbor, 
praying  to  Osiris  and  Anubis,  who  are  concealed  by 
the  intervening  pillar  on  the  left.  Finally  on  the  wall 
at  the  right  of  the  further  pillar  you  observe  a priest 
with  a panther  skin  hanging  from  his  shoulders,  pour- 
ing out  a libation  of  water  from  a jar  in  his  right 
hand,  while  he  extends  a censer  of  burning  incense 
with  his  left.  Thus  our  friend  Sen-nofer,  who  had 
charge  of  the  gardens  of  the  state  temple,  which  we 
have  seen  at  Kamak,  nearly  1,600  years  before  Christ, 


Position  69.  Maps  3,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


267 


in  the  days  of  King  Amenophis  I,  was  supplied  with 
all  possible  necessities  for  his  long  sojourn  in  that 
uncertain  country,  toward  which  the  Egyptian  looked 
with  such  dread.  Similar  scenes  depicting  all  the 
various  activities  of  life,  from  the  grand  vizier  receiv- 
ing the  envoys  of  Syria,  to  the  artisan  at  work  upon 
the  king’s  buildings,  restore  to  us  the  life  of  Egypt 
and  to  some  extent  of  Syria,  centuries  before  the 
Hebrew  exodus.  Thus  while  the  cities  of  the  living 
have  perished,  the  life  that  surged  through  their 
streets  and  houses  and  bazaars  has  been  preserved  to 
us  in  the  city  of  the  dead,  in  this  vast  Theban  ceme- 
tery, where  the  tombs  are  so  numerous  that  the  face 
of  the  cliff  has  been  not  inaptly  compared  with  a 
huge  sponge.  Could  we  now  push  up  a few  feet 
through  this  ceiling,  we  should  emerge  upon  a similar 
tomb  chamber  above;  if  we  should  pierce  a shaft 
through  the  floor,  we  should  presently  fall  through 
into  a chamber  below,  and  we  should  have  the  same 
experience  if  we  should  penetrate  through  either  side 
wall.  All  around  us  as  we  stand  in  this  silent  dwelling 
of  the  dead  are  the  houses  of  other  dead.  The  Egyp- 
tians themselves  had  great  difficulty  in  this  respect, 
for  they  were  often  unable  to  put  down  the  necessary 
vertical  shaft,  at  the  lower  end  of  which  they  desired 
to  excavate  the  sepulcher  chamber  for  the  mummy ; 
hence  it  was  frequently  necessar}^  to  push  a horizontal 
passage  further  into  the  cliff,  to  a point  where  it  would 
be  safe  to  descend  without  penetrating  a chamber 
below. 

There  are  many  larger  chambers  of  finer  workman- 
ship than  this  in  the  Theban  cemetery  around  us,  but 
there  is  none  so  fresh  and  well  preserved,  and  hence 
we  have  visited  this  one.  When  we  remember  that 


Position  69.  Maps  3,  9. 


268  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

these  are  all  simple  water-colors,  with  which  the  artist 
worked,  and  that  all  oil  colors  were  unknown  in 
ancient  Egypt,  we  shall  appreciate  the  marvelous  pos- 
sibilities for  the  preservation  of  the  works  of  men 
inherent  in  the  climate  and  other  conditions  of  the 
Nile  valley.  Such  conditions  are  found  nowhere  else, 
and  hence  we  can  nowhere  else  study  early  man  as  we 
can  here. 

You  will  find  our  next  position  marked  near  the 
centre  of  Map  9 by  the  lines  numbered  70.  There 
we  are  to  look  north  over  the  ruins  of  the  temple  Der 
el-Bahri.  See  also  Plan  14,  an  enlarged  plan  of  the 
temple,  where  lines  marked  70  cut  out  the  portion  of 
the  temple  that  we  are  to  see. 


Position  70.  Buried  for  ages— colonnaded  terraces 
of  Queen  Makere’s  magnificent  temple,  Ber  el- 
Bahri,  Thehes  (looking  north) 

What  temple  in  all  the  world  is  so  superbly  situated 
as  this  beautiful  sanctuary  of  the  great  queen?  The 
snow-white  colonnades  are  flanked  by  the  naked,  deso- 
late cliffs  with  their  fine  play  of  light  and  shadow, 
bringing  out  rich  masses  of  brown  and  yellow  against 
which  the  clear  lines  of  the  temple  are  sharply  defined, 
producing  an  effect  of  the  whole,  not  to  be  found  in 
any  other  temple  of  Egypt  or  of  any  land.  For  no 
such  terraced  structure  as  this  is  known  anywhere 
else,  and  you  are  struck  from  the  first  with  its  pecul- 
iar arrangement,  unlike  any  temple  that  we  have 
visited.  It  is  an  imitation,  on  a much  larger  scale,  of 
a terraced  temple  recently  unearthed  here  on  our  left 
just  beside  the  larger  temple.  This  prototype  was 


Positions  69,  70.  Maps  3,  9.  Plan  14. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


269 


erected  by  one  of  the  Mentuhoteps  of  the  11th  Dy- 
nasty. The  temple  faces  southeast,  and  we  are  look- 
ing obliquely  across  the  main  central  axis,  nearly  due 
north  (Map  9 and  Plan  14).  On  our  right  are  Karnak 
and  the  river,  behind  us  are  the  Ramesseum  and  the 
colossi  in  the  plain,  on  our  left  the  western  cliffs  and 
the  desert  behind  them.  You  have  already  seen  that 
Queen  Makere  was  a great  builder,  for  you  remember 
her  giant  obelisk,  which  we  found  at  Karnak.  But  we 
have  before  us  a still  greater  work  of  hers.  The  Holy 
of  Holies,  in  this  remarkable  temple,  is  hewn  in  the 
rock  of  the  cliff,  and  you  can  see  its  entrance  at  the 
foot  of  the  cliff  on  the  upper  terrace.  It  is  that  dark 
rectangular  doorway  directly  in  a line  over  the  head 
of  this  nearer  native;  not  the  one  farthest  to  the  left 
and  lower  down,  which  is  the  entrance  to  the  side 
chapel  (Plan  14).  In  the  axis  of  the  temple  before  that 
door  to  the  Holy  of  Holies  you  see  a detached  stone 
doorway,  out  toward  the  edge  of  the  “upper  court.” 
That  is  marked  as  the  “Granite  Door”  on  the  plan 
(14).  This  will  locate  for  you  the  upper  court.  The 
“middle  court”  is  directly  before  us  with  a colonnade 
both  above  and  below  it.  Communication  between 
the  upper  and  the  “middle  court”  is  maintained  by  an 
“ascent”  or  causeway.  A similar  causeway  which 
you  notice  at  the  extreme  right  connects  the  middle 
and  a “lower  court,”  of  which  you  can  see  only  one 
corner  just  behind  this  house  on  the  right.  That  is 
the  house  of  the  excavators,  who  freed  this  temple 
from  the  accumulated  debris  and  rubbish  of  many 
centuries,  which  completely  covered  it.  The  work  was 
done  by  the  Egypt  Exploration  Fund,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  M.  Naville,  of  Geneva,  and  when  they  began,  if 
you  had  viewed  the  temple  from  this  place  you  could 


Position  70.  Maps  3,  9.  Plan  14. 


270 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


have  distinguished  little  more  than  heaps  of  rubbish 
and  detritus  from  the  cliffs  above  Up  yonder  in  the 
upper  court  rose  the  tower  of  a Coptic  convent,  built 
with  brick  from  neighboring  late  tombs.  It  was  this 
building  which  gave  to  the  temple  its  modern  name 
“Der  el-Bahri,”  which  means  Northern  Church  or 
Convent ; but  it  was  removed  in  clearing  the  temple 
by  M.  Naville. 

The  builder,  Queen  Makere  herself,  called  her  temple 
“The  Most  Splendid,”  and  it  fully  deserved  the  name. 
Out  here  on  the  right,  but  now  totally  destroyed,  so 
that  we  miss  nothing  by  their  being  out  of  range, 
were  a pair  of  pylon  towers,  to  which  an  avenue  of 
sphinxes  led  up  from  the  river.  As  there  is  no  soil 
here,  the  trees  and  plants,  that  used  to  beautify  the 
terraces,  were  planted  in  holes  excavated  in  the  stone 
and  filled  with  Nile  mud.  The  rock  forming  the 
middle  court  before  us  was  not  of  exactly  the  proper 
shape  for  it  and  it  had  therefore  to  be  built  out  on 
this  side  with  limestone  masonry,  adorned  with  large 
panels.  The  sculptures  in  this  temple  are  among  the 
finest  in  Egypt,  and  their  subject  matter  is  of  the  great- 
est interest.  The  wall  behind  the  colonnade  on  the  other 
side  of  the  ascent  is  covered  with  scenes  depicting 
the  divine  birth  of  the  queen,  while  that  on  this  side  of 
the  same  causeway  is  devoted  to  a most  interesting 
series  of  reliefs  showing  the  queen’s  expedition  to  the 
lands  on  the  Somali  coast  of  Africa,  at  the  southern 
end  of  the  Red  Sea.  We  shall  later  look  at  one  of  these 
scenes  in  the  last  series.  In  the  further  comer  of  the 
upper  court  is  another  small  court  with  a large  altar 
of  sacrifice  in  a fine  state  of  preservation,  and  of  the 
greatest  interest,  because  such  altars  have  all  perished 


Position  70.  Maps  3.  9,  Plan  14. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


271 


in  the  temples  of  Egypt,  though  one  other  has  since 
been  discovered. 

Throughout  this  magnificent  temple  the  name  and 
figure  of  the  queen  have  been  carefully  erased,  espe- 
cially by  her  great  brother,  who  was  also  her  husband 
and  successor,  Thutmosis  III,  but  also  by  her  other 
brother,  Thutmosis  II.  Thus  its  walls  have  become 
for  us  the  evidence  of  political  factions  like  that  which 
we  found  on  the  wall  at  Karnak.  As  we  enjoy  the 
peaceful  beauty  of  this  lovely  temple,  we  would  never 
have  imagined  the  family  feuds,  the  feverish  hate, 
the  plots  and  counterplots  among  which  its  walls  rose, 
until  at  last  when  the  enemies  of  the  queen  were  suc- 
cessful, she  was  thrust  aside  by  her  great  brother,  Thut- 
mosis  III,  and  the  temple  was  left  unfinished. 

After  we  have  inspected  one  of  her  reliefs,  we  shall 
climb  up  the  narrow  path  that  leads  to  the  top  of  those 
cliffs  and  from  there  look  down  along  the  line  of  cliffs 
at  present  on  our  right.  The  lines  marked  71  on  our 
Plan  14  show  in  what  part  of  the  temple  we  shall  find 
the  relief  we  are  now  to  study. 


Position  71.  Queen  Mdkere’s  expedition  to  East 
Africa  in  the  sixteenth  century  before  Christ 
— reliefs  at  Der  el-Bahri,  Thebes  , 

We  are  now  at  the  left  end  of  the  colonnade  on  the 
left  side  of  the  “ascent”  leading  from  the  middle  to  the 
upper  court,  and  we  are  looking  at  the  end  wall  (Plan 
14).  What  a pity  that  it  is  so  damaged!  Time  and 
space  do  not  permit  us  to  follow  every  step  of  this 
expedition ; the  five  vessels  composing  it  have  reached 
their  destination,  having  sailed  from  some  unknown 
port  near  the  north  end  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  having 


Positions  70,  71.  Maps  3,  9.  Plan  14. 


272  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

now  anchored  in  some  harbor  along  that  strip  of  coast  at 
the  south  end  of  the  Red  Sea,  known  as  the  Somali  coast 
(Map  2).  The  Egyptians  called  this  country  the  “land 
of  Punt,”  and  they  had  traded  with  it  in  expeditions 
by  sea  as  far  back  as  2600  or  2700  B.  C,  being  the 
earliest  sea  voyages  known  in  history.  Solomon  traded 
along  the  same  route,  but  that  was  six  hundred  years 
later  than  this  expedition  of  Queen  Makere  in  the  16th 
century  B.  C.  The  expedition  has  now  landed  and 
the  wall  before  us  shows  the  first  intercourse  with  the 
natives  of  the  land  of  Punt.  The  scenes  are  arranged 
in  rows  one  above  another,  and  we  shall  begin  with 
the  lowermost.  Under  this  lowest  row  is  a band  of 
wavy  lines  representing  the  sea.  You  notice  the  fish 
in  the  waters.  Those  fish  are  so  accurately  done  by 
the  “staff  artist”  who  accompanied  the  expedition  that 
they  have  been  identified  with  fish  still  surviving  in 
the  Red  Sea.  On  the  right  is  a file  of  soldiers  with 
large  shields,  preceded  by  their  commander  leaning 
upon  his  staff.  At  the  extreme  left  where  the  wall 
is  broken  off,  you  see  the  prince  of  the  land  of  Punt, 
standing  with  uplifted  hands  in  salutation  of  the  Egyp- 
tians. Before  the  Egyptian  officer  is  a low  table  loaded 
with  necklaces  and  strings  of  beads,  brought,  of 
course,  for  purposes  of  traffic.  Let  us  now  read  the 
inscriptions  which  the  ancient  artist  has  considerately 
inserted  as  an  explanation  of  the  scene.  Over  the 
table  and  the  Egyptians  are  the  words : “(The  arrival) 
of  the  king’s  messenger  in  the  Divine  Land  (Punt), 
together  with  the  army  which  is  behind  him,  before 
the  chiefs  of  Punt.  They  have  been  dispatched  with 
every  good  thing  from  the  court  (of  Egypt).”  Over 
the  prince  of  Punt  we  find : “The  coming  of  the  chiefs 
of  Punt,  doing  obeisance,  with  bowed  head,  to  receive 


Position  71.  Maps  3,  9.  Plan  14. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


273 


the  army  of  the  king.”  You  see  the  queen  regularly 
refers  to  herself  as  the  “king.”  The  name  of  the 
Puntite  prince  is  also  written  before  his  figure  under 
his  uplifted  arms,  thus : “Parohu.”  In  the  next  higher 
row  over  the  line  of  soldiers  with  large  shields,  you 
see  a large  rectangular  space  with  a curved  top.  That 
is  the  Egyptian  officer’s  tent,  in  front  of  which  he  now 
stands,  while  the  natives  of  Punt  bring  before  him 
the  products  of  their  country.  The  figures  of  these 
men  have  now  disappeared,  but  the  products  which 
they  have  brought  are  piled  up  before  the  Egyptian 
commander.  You  see  a round-topped  heap  of  myrrh 
and  other  fragrant  gums,  and  just  where  the  surface 
of  the  wall  is  broken  away  two  flat  baskets  filled  with 
gold  in  commercial  rings.  Just  in  front  of  the  Egyp- 
tian officer  is  a short  inscription  with  these  words : 
“Reception  of  the  tribute  of  the  chief  of  Punt,  by  the 
king’s  messenger.”  The  tent  of  the  officer  also  con- 
tains an  inscription  of  great  interest ; it  states : “The 
tent  of  the  king’s  messenger  and  his  army  is  pitched 
in  the  myrrh-terraces  of  Punt  on  the  side  of  the  sea, 
in  order  to  receive  the  chiefs  of  this  country.  There 
is  offered  to  them  bread,  beer,  wine,  meat,  fruit  and 
everything  found  in  Egypt,  according  to  the  command 
of  the  (Egyptian)  court.”  In  the  top  row,  which  is 
much  destroyed,  we  see  that  the  queen  was  not  content 
to  bring  only  the  myrrh  of  Punt  to  Egypt ; she 
must  have  also  the  trees  themselves  which  produce 
the  aromatic  gum;  so  that  you  see  up  there  a tree 
slung  in  a basket,  suspended  from  a pole,  and  carried  on 
the  shoulders  of  four  men  to  the  neighboring  ships. 
Large  numbers  of  these  trees  are  thus  carried  on 
board,  and  together  with  the  myrrh  itself,  monkeys, 
dogs,  apes,  gold,  ivory,  ebony,  panther  skins,  all  sorts 


Position  71.  Maps  3,  9.  Plan  14, 


274  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

of  aromatic  woods,  fragrant  gums,  and  even  natives 
of  Punt  and  their  children,  are  loaded  into  the  wait- 
ing ships  and  sail  away  for  Egy'pt.  Those  trees  were  in- 
tended for  this  very  temple  in  which  we  stand,  and  here 
they  were  planted.  For,  as  the  queen  elsewhere  explains, 
she  desired  to  make  a “Punt  in  Egypt.”  Now,  as  we 
know  from  many  inscriptions,  and  as  you  have  already 
noticed  in  one  of  these  before  us,  the  myrrh  trees  grew 
on  the  terraced  slopes  of  the  hills  above  the  sea  in 
Punt,  which  the  Egyptians  called  “Myrrh-terraces,” 
and  the  resemblance  of  these  terraces  to  her  terraced 
temple  may  have  occurred  to  the  queen,  as  she  at- 
tempted to  reconstruct  a “Punt  in  Egypt.”  We  might 
follow  the  expedition  on  these  walls  until  it  reached 
Egypt,  and  we  might  watch  the  queen  presenting  the 
wealth  of  this  distant  land  to  this  splendid  temple,  we 
might  see  her  officials  weighing  up  the  gold,  measuring 
the  myrrh  and  counting  the  ivory  tusks,  as  they  receive 
them  all  in  the  temple  treasury ; but  there  are  many 
other  marvels  that  await  us  here  in  Thebes,  and  we 
must  pass  all  this  and  ascend  the  cliffs  which  flank  this 
temple. 

This  next  standpoint  is  given  on  both  Maps  8 and 
9.  Note  particularly  the  red  lines  numbered  72,  which 
start  in  the  upper  middle  portion  of  Map  8 and  branch 
southeast  across  the  river. 


Position  72.  From  the  high  cliffs  above  Der  el- 
Pahri,  southeast  across  the  plain  to  Luxor 
and  the  Nile,  Thebes 

We  have  looked  across  this  plain  before,  but  that  was 
from  a point  further  south  (the  right),  where  we  had 
in  range  the  colossi  in  the  plain  and  the  Ramesseum 


Positions  71,  72.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


275 


( Position  47  ) . They  are  now  out  of  our  field  of  vision 
on  the  right.  We  are  looking  southeastward,  our  line 
of  sight  being  at  right  angles  with  the  river,  which 
you  descry  as  a white  streak,  behind  which,  on  the 
right,  is  Luxor  plainly  marked  by  the  white  front  of 
the  hotel  (Map  8).  On  both  sides  of  the  river  the 
fields  stretch  away  far  and  wide,  but  our  range  of 
vision  does  not  include  Karnak,  which  is,  of  course, 
some  distance  to  the  left  (north)  of  Luxor.  Below 
us,  hidden  by  the  rocks  at  our  feet,  is  the  terraced 
temple  of  Der  el-Bahri  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs,  and 
if  our  native  attendant  here  should  step  incautiously 
out  over  these  jagged  points  of  rock,  he  would  be 
dashed  to  instant  death  on  the  pavement  of  the  upper 
court  several  hundred  feet  below  us.  Out  beyond  the 
lower  court  where  the  pylons  once  stood,  we  see  the 
sands  of  the  desert  covering  many  an  ancient  tomb. 
That  rectangular  brick  building  is  a tomb  of  the  26th 
Dynasty,  and  the  whole  group  of  burials  out  there 
is  known  among  the  natives  as  El-Assasif.  Beyond  it 
you  see  the  sands  merging  into  the  vegetation  of  the 
plain,  but  the  line  of  transition  is  still  very  clearly 
marked. 

All  along  this  desert  margin,  formerly  stretched  in 
an  imposing  array  that  line  of  noble  temples,  of  which 
now  there  are  standing  only  the  temple  of  Kuma,  on 
the  north  (our  left),  the  Ramesseum,  now  just  outside 
our  field  on  the  right,  and  Medinet  Habu  on  the  ex- 
treme south.  If  you  will  look  at  the  Map  (No.  9), 
you  will  find  the  ground  plans  of  those  that  have  been 
located,  but  of  which  the  superstructure  has  now  dis- 
appeared. The  temple  of  the  great  conqueror,  Thut- 
mosis  III,  stood  out  yonder  on  the  plain,  beyond  and 
to  the  right  of  the  large  brick  tomb,  where  now  you  see 


Position  72.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


276  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

nothing  but  the  level  fields  of  the  peasant.  There  Thut- 
mosis  III  celebrated  one  of  his  magnificent  feasts  of 
victory  on  his  return  from  his  first  victorious  cam- 
paign ; but  like  all  the  others  in  that  splendid  line,  it  has 
utterly  vanished.  No  city  of  the  orient  ever  possessed 
such  a group  of  buildings  as  these,  and  seen  from 
below  against  the  fine  mass  of  these  gaunt  cliffs  upon 
which  we  now  stand,  they  must  have  made  a spectacle 
such  as  the  modern  world  has  never  looked  upon. 
Having  as  their  pendants  on  the  east  shore  the 
mighty  mass  of  the  Karnak  group  and  the  fine  colon- 
nades of  Luxor,  the  whole  set  in  the  deep  green  of 
temple  gardens,  surrounded  by  splendid  palaces  and 
gorgeous  chateaus  of  the  nobles,  about  which  were 
grouped  the  immense  quarters  of  the  vast  city  with 
miles  of  busy  streets,  markets  and  bazaars,  the  whole 
formed  such  a prospect  from  these  heights  as  we  have 
perhaps  painted  in  fancy  as  we  read  the  Arabian 
Nights,  but  no  modern  eye  shall  ever  see. 

For  centuries  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  buried  their 
dead  in  these  cliffs  at  our  feet,  so  that  there  grew  up 
on  this  side  of  the  river  the  quarters  of  the  under- 
takers and  embalmers,  who  here  practiced  their  grew- 
some  craft  by  thousands.  Had  we  stood  here  on  any  day 
whatever,  before  the  disappearance  of  the  great  city, 
we  might  have  seen  the  sombre  line  of  Nile  boats  leav- 
ing the  other  shore  and  pushing  across  the  river. 
Landing  on  this  side  we  should  have  traced  the  long 
procession  slowly  winding  on  foot  across  the  plain 
below  us,  while  as  they  approached  the  sounds  of 
mourning  and  lamentation,  at  first  almost  inaudible, 
would  gradually  rise  until  they  seemed  to  fill  all  the 
plain,  as  the  mourning  cortege  grew  near  one  of  those 
innumerable  doors,  which  we  have  seen  in  the  face 


Position  72.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


277 


of  the  cliff.  All  day  long  we  might  have  seen  such 
processions,  longer  or  shorter,  as  beseemed  the  rank 
and  wealth  of  the  departed,  leaving  the  city  yonder 
and  entering  these  dread  chambers  beneath  us;  and 
every  day  for  many  centuries  this  continued,  until 
these  cliffs  for  miles  above  and  below  us  here  are 
honeycombed  with  such  chambers  as  that  of  Sen-nofer, 
which  we  visited.  And  the  vanished  city,  which  once 
filled  the  broad  plain  yonder,  tells  its  story  to-day 
only  in  the  paintings,  inscriptions,  and  mortuary  fur- 
niture still  preserved  in  this  city  of  the  dead. 

These  tombs  in  the  face  of  the  cliffs  are  only  those  of 
the  Thebans,  not  those  of  their  kings.  The  tombs  of 
the  kings  are  now  behind  us,  in  a secluded  valley,  into 
which  we  shall  presently  look.  There  is,  however,  a fine 
view  down  the  river  from  this  point,  and  after  we  have 
enjoyed  it,  we  shall  look  down  into  the  valley  where 
the  kings  were  buried.  First,  then,  we  turn  to  the 
left,  with  our  line  of  sight  at  right  angles  to  that 
along  which  we  are  now  looking. 

See  the  red  lines  numbered  73,  starting  from  the 
upper  middle  portion  of  Map  8 and  extending  north- 
east. The  more  extended  range  of  vision  which  we  are 
about  to  enjoy  is  marked  out  more  fully  on  our  large 
map  of  Eg>'pt  (Map  3). 

Position  73.  Down  the  Nile  (northeast)  across  the 
western  cliffs  of  Thebes 

Here  is  the  rugged  crest  of  the  rocks  which  flank 
the  temple  of  Der  el-Bahri,  as  we  saw  them  from  be- 
low when  we  visited  the  temple  (Position  70).  We 
have  now  turned  to  the  left  from  our  former  direc- 
tion, and  whereas  we  then  looked  directly  across  the 


Positions  7?,  73,  Maps  3,  8. 


278  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

river,  we  are  now  looking  down  the  river  (Maps  8 
and  3).  On  oiir  right,  but  out  of  our  field  of  vision 
is  Kamak, 'on  the  left  the  desert,  and  behind  us  the 
upper  river.  Far  down  the  valley,  making  a wide 
sweep  westward,  and  in  the  distance  turning  again 
eastward  till  it  is  lost  on  the  horizon,  is  the  river,  which 
cut  out  this  remarkable  valley  and  made  of  it  a habit- 
able land.  You  can  see  this  curve  better  on  the  large 
Map  3.  So  it  winds  on  past  Cairo,  nearly  five  him- 
dred  miles  to  the  sea.  Here  sailed  forth  the  fleets  of 
the  Theban  princes  against  those  of  Assiut,  back  in 
the  days  when  the  supremacy  of  the  north  or  the  south 
depended  upon  the  long  civil  conflict,  till  by  the  22nd 
century  B.  C.  Thebes  won,  and  established  the  11th 
Dynasty  in  the  south  to  succeed  the  10th  in  the  north. 

Who  would  have  supposed  that  this  comparatively 
narrow  stream  should  be  the  sole  source  of  fertility 
in  this  valley  ? As  we  see  the  river  here  it  is  but  2,000 
feet  wide,  and  at  its  widest  it  is  but  3,300,  while  at  its 
narrowest  point,  at  Silsileh,  it  is  but  a little  over  1,100 
feet.  These  cliffs  before  us,  and  all  that  we  have  thus 
far  seen,  are  of  limestone,  but  as  we  proceed  up  the 
river  and  pass  Edfu,  which  is  sixty-eight  miles  from 
the  first  cataract,  we  shall  find  them  changing  to  sand- 
stone, which  continues  throughout  Nubia.  With  such 
excellent  building  material  awaiting  him  on  both  sides 
of  his  narrow  valley,  it  was,  of  course,  a foregone 
conclusion  that  the  Egyptian  must  become  a master 
of  masonry,  and  thus  it  is,  that  we  find  the  earliest 
known  stone  masonry  in  this  valley,  while  in  Baby- 
lonia, where  there  is  no  stone  to  be  had,  the  people  only 
learned  brick  masonry,  and  the  art  of  cutting  and  laying 
stone  was  almost  unknown.  Thus  this  river,  with  its 
requirements  for  irrigation  devices  of  many  kinds,  and 


Position  73.  Maps  3,  8. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


279 


the  cliffs,  with  their  unrivaled  building  materials, 
made  Egypt  the  mother  of  the  mechanical  arts,  from 
which  the  later  civilization  of  the  Mediterranean  basin 
largely  profited,  and  bequeathed  them  to  us  of  this 
modern  world.  As  the  Nile  is  the  real  maker  of 
these  cliffs,  we  see  what  a benefactor  to  all  mankind 
this  ancient  river  is  and  has  been. 

But  now  we  must  turn  about  to  the  left,  with  our 
right  side  toward  our  present  outlook  and  our  backs 
to  Karnak,  and  we  shall  see  where  the  kings  were 
laid.  This  next  outlook  is  given  in  the  upper  middle 
portion  of  Map  9.  That  particular  section  to  be  looked 
over  is  also  given  on  a larger  scale  in  the  upper  left- 
hand  corner  of  Map  9. 

Position  74.  The  Valley  of  the  Kings’  Tombs  at 
Thebes,  where  the  great  conquerors  of  Egypt 
were  buried 

Is  not  this  a fit  burial  place  for  the  great  kings  of 
Egypt?  What  splendid  desolation,  what  a noble  val- 
ley of  death  encompassed,  by  these  silent  mountains, 
without  a hint  of  life  in  all  its  circuit,  save  these  chat- 
tering natives  who  prattle  on  like  the  children  that 
they  are,  untouched  by  the  wild  impressiveness  of  the 
place.  We  are  now  standing  with  Karnak  and  the 
river  behind  us  (Map  8)  ; its  lower  course,  which  we 
have  just  seen,  is  now  on  our  right,  and  out  yonder 
behind  that  battlemented  mountain  are  the  trackless 
wastes  of  the  Sahara.  The  valley  at  our  feet  is  a de- 
pression behind  the  western  cliffs,  which  we  have  seen 
so  often  from  the  plain  of  Thebes  behind  us.  When 
the  kings  found  that  the  pyramids  no  longer  sufficed 
to  protect  the  body  of  the  royal  occupant,  they  began 


Positions  73,  74.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


280  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

to  follow  the  example  of  their  nobles  and  hew  out 
tombs  in  the  rock  of  the  cliffs.  The  place  they  chose 
was  this  valley,  and  you  can  see  the  doors  that  form 
the  entrances  to  their  tombs.  The  custom  began, 
when  the  kings  of  the  Empire  took  up  their 
residence  at  Thebes,  and  the  city  entered  upon  its  im- 
perial career.  The  earliest  king  whose  tomb  has  been 
found  here  is  Thutmosis  I.  You  remember  his  obe- 
lisks at  Kamak.  The  same  architect  who  erected  those 
obelisks,  Ineni,  also  made  the  king’s  tomb  in  this  val- 
ley. He  tells  us  with  great  pride  how  it  was  done : 
“I  superintended  the  excavation  of  the  cliff-tomb  of 
his  majesty,  alone,  no  one  seeing,  no  one  hearing.” 
This,  of  course,  refers  to  the  great  secrecy  with  which 
it  was  done  with  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  location 
from  becoming  known,  and  thus  making  robbery  im- 
possible. From  the  time  of  Thutmosis  I,  early  in  the 
18th  Dynasty,  after  1550  B.  C.,  to  the  priest  kings  of 
the  21st  Dynasty,  or  about  1000  B.  C,  this  valley  con- 
tinued to  be  the  royal  cemetery  of  Egypt.  During 
these  550  years,  not  less  than  forty-two  tombs 
were  excavated  here,  at  least  that  is  the  number  now 
known.  But  new  ones  are  being  discovered  every 
season  or  two,  and  there  are  probably  many  more  yet 
to  be  found,  as  the  detritus  from  the  cliffs  above 
slides  down  and  completely  covers  the  openings. 

The  last  tomb  discovered  was  found  by  an  American, 
Mr.  Theodore  M.  Davis.  It  was  that  of  the  family 
of  Amenophis  III.  Mr.  Davis  also  penetrated  to  the 
tomb  of  the  great  Queen  Makere,  as  well  as  to  that 
of  Thutmosis  IV.  Among  all  these  tombs,  only  one 
has  preserved  the  body  of  the  king  in  its  sarcophagus. 
In  the  winter  of  1898,  M.  Loret  discovered  the  tomb 
of  Amenophis  II,  the  son  of  the  conqueror  Thutmosis 


Position  74.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


f 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  281 

I 

III,  with  the  mummy  lying  in  its  wooden  coffin,  which 
again  was  enclosed  in  a large  stone  sarcophagus,  such 
as  is  regularly  used  in  these  royal  tombs.  Although  the 
tomb  had  been  robbed,  the  funeral  garlands  still  lay 
t upon  the  breast  of  the  mummy.  By  order  of  the  gov- 

ernment the  body  was  left  lying  in  the  tomb,  undis- 
turbed in  its  sarcophagus.  The  modem  descendants 
^ of  the  tomb  robbers  of  ancient  Thebes,  then  forced 

■ their  way  into  the  tomb  and  rifled  the  body  of  their 

ancient  ruler,  but  for  nothing. 

Do  you  see  that  open  door  facing  us  from  our 
present  p>oint  of  view  ? That  is  tomb  No.  9 on  the  map 
(No.  9),  and  belonged  to  Ramses  VI.*  Just  to  the 
left  of  that  door  you  notice  a pathway  leading  ob- 
liquely up  to  the  face  of  the  opposite  cliff.  There, 
in  a small  bay,  which  you  can  see  from  here  if  you 
look  at  the  top  of  the  cliff  above  the  termination  of  the 
1 path,  is  the  tomb  of  Amenophis  II ; there  his  body 
still  lies,  garlanded  in  its  ancient  funeral  wreaths, 
just  as  they  were  put  there  on  the  day  of  burial,  over 
3,300  years  ago.  The  government  has  put  in  electric 
■'  lights,  and  the  hosts  of  Cook  who  visit  Thebes  every 
winter,  may  enjoy  the  strange  and  incongruous  sight 
of  a Pharaoh  lying  in  state  in  his  tomb,  under  the 
glare  of  a modern  electric  light. 

Those  three  on  the  left  of  the  path,  this  side  of  No. 
9,  belong  (beginning  with  the  furthermost)  to  Ramses 
I,  the  first  king  of  the  19th  Dynasty ; to  his  son,  Sethos 
I ; and  to  Ramses  XI,  of  the  end  of  the  20th  Dynasty, 
the  predecessor  of  Ramses  XII,  the  last  of  the  long 
line  of  Ramessids.  There  are  thus  some  350  years 


•Remember  that  you  will  find  the  valley  on  a larger  scale,  with 
the  numbers  and  location  of  the  tombs  more  clearly  given,  in  the  up- 
per left-hand  corner  of  Map  9. 


Position  74.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


282  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

betvv^een  the  farthest  and  the  nearest  of  those  three 
tombs.  We  will  now  take  one  of  these  native 
watchmen  with  us  and  enter  the  tomb  of  Sethos  I,  the 
middle  one  of  the  three  just  mentioned.  We  shall 
find  the  watchman  necessary,  for  these  tombs  are 
now  all  closed  with  grated  iron  doors  to  keep  out 
marauders,  and  he  must  unlock  the  tomb  for  us  be- 
fore we  can  enter.  The  tomb  is  No.  17  on  the  small 
sectional  map  in  the  upper  left-hand  corner  of  Map  9. 


Position  75.  Descending  gallery  in  the  tomb  of 
Sethos  I,  Valley  of  the  King s^  Tombs,  Thebes 

How  different  from  the  tomb  chambers  which  we 
have  seen  before!  Yes,  but  this  gallery  is  not  a tomb 
chapel,  nor  are  any  of  the  halls  to  which  it  leads.  The 
rock  tombs,  which  we  have  thus  far  seen,  are  all 
chapels,  where  the  dead  lived  and  received  his  food, 
drink  and  clothing.  King  Sethos  Ts  chapel  is  not  here, 
but  we  shall  see  it  later,  on  the  western  plain,  where 
we  found  the  Ramesseum  and  the  colossi  marking  the 
chapel  of  Amenophis  III.  All  those  temples  out  there 
on  the  western  plain  were  the  mortuary  chapels  of  the 
kings ; this  excavation  in  the  mountain  is  only  the 
sepulchral  chamber  for  the  mummy,  and  the  long  cor- 
ridor leading  in  from  the  face  of  the  cliff  to  that 
chamber.  But  this  place  of  deposit  for  the  mummy 
has  developed  far  beyond  the  simple  descending  pas- 
sage which  served  the  purpose  in  the  pyramid.  It  has 
now  become  a long  gallery  descending  into  the  moun- 
tain through  hall  after  hall,  until  that  one  is  reached 
in  which  the  mummy  was  laid.  This  gallery  before  us 
goes  down  through  the  successive  halls  330  feet  Into 
the  mountain.  At  the  end,  in  the  last  chamber,  was 


Positions  74,  75.  Maps  3,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


283 


a vast  stone  sarcophagus,  in  which  the  king  was  in- 
terred. The  sarcophagus  in  this  tomb,  a magnificent 
work  cut  from  one  block  of  alabaster,  is  now  in  Sir 
John  Soane’s  museum  in  London ; and  the  bodyof  King 
Sethos  I,  which  was  here  interred  in  it,  you  have  already 
seen  in  the  Cairo  Museum  (Position  12).  All  about  us 
on  the  door-posts  and  lintels  is  the  name  of  Sethos  I, 
and  the  walls  are  covered  with  inscriptions  describing 
the  career  of  the  dead  in  the  hereafter,  and  furnishing 
him  with  the  magical  formularies  which  shall  deliver 
him  from  the  hideous  and  grotesque  monsters  that  be- 
set his  path  as  he  leaves  this  world.  Many  of  these 
monsters  are  depicted  by  the  artists  on  the  walls  of  the 
galleries  and  chambers.  To  enable  the  tourists  to  see 
these  things  without  the  use  of  smoky  torches,  which 
damage  the  colors,  the  government  has  put  in  electric 
lights,  and  you  can  see  the  wire  leading  along  the  ceil- 
ing of  this  gallery. 

Here,  we  stand  immediately  within  the  entrance, 
which  is  just  behind  us.  It  is  like  the  entrance  to 
tomb  No.  9,  which  we  saw  from  the  top  of  the  cliff. 
A flight  of  steps  behind  us  leads  down  to  the  descend- 
ing  gallery  in  which  we  are,  and  another  similar  flight 
at  the  lower  end  where  that  native  sits,  conducts  to  a 
second  descending  gallery  exactly  like  this  one,  below 
which,  after  a small  ante-chamber,  the  first  hall  is 
found.  There  were  elaborate  devices  for  concealing 
the  entrance  and  for  misleading  the  tomb  robbers 
when  they  had  once  discovered  the  entrance.  Never- 
theless, these  tombs  have  all  been  rifled  in  remote 
antiquity,  and  already  at  the  end  of  the  18th  Dynasty, 
about  1350  B.  C.,  it  was  found  difficult  to  protect  them. 
By  the  time  of  the  last  Ramessids,  at  the  close  of  the 
20th  Dynasty  (about  1100  B.  C.),  the  robberies  were 


Position  75.  Maps  3,  9. 


284  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

common,  and  we  have  the  court  records  of  the  prosecu- 
tion of  certain  tomb  robbers  under  Ramses  IX,  now 
preserved  in  the  British  Museum.  Finally  the  priest- 
kings  of  the  21st  Dynasty,  unable  to  protect  the  bodies 
of  their  great  ancestors,  were  forced  to  bring  them  to- 
gether in  a place  of  concealment,  where  they  lay  until 
modem  times. 

Let  us  now  return  to  one  of  our  former  standpoints 
at  the  Ramesseum,  from  which  we  can  see  the  place 
where  the  royal  mummies  were  hidden. 

Return  to  Position  GH.  The  Ramesseum,  mortuary 
Temple  of  Ramses  II— northwest  toward 
tombs  in  the  cliffs,  Thebes 

Here  we  are  again,  on  the  top  of  the  first  pylon  at 
the  Ramesseum  (Map  9).  Yonder  behind  tho.se 
cliffs  is  the  valley  which  we  have  just  visited,  the 
cemetery  of  the  Theban  Pharaohs,  and  this  temple,  as 
we  have  now  several  times  noted,  is  but  a chapel  be- 
longing to  one  of  the  tombs  in  that  cemetery.  When 
the  priest-kings  of  the  21st  Dynasty  could  no  longer 
protect  the  royal  mummies  they  found  a secret  shaft 
in  the  face  of  the  cliffs  before  us,  just  beside  the  tem- 
ple of  Der  el-Bahri.  That  temple  is  now  hidden  by  that 
promontory  of  cliff  on  the  right.  If  you  will  look  at 
the  base  of  the  cliffs  on  the  right,  just  in  a line  with  that 
native  in  the  white  garment  standing  on  the  giant 
colossus,  you  will  see  some  low  brick  buildings,  and 
behind  them  a bay  in  the  cliffs.  High  up  in  that  bay 
on  the  right,  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  sands,  drifted  in 
at  the  base,  the  priest-kings  made  or  found  their  secret 
shaft.  It  was  only  about  40  feet  deep,  but  at  its  lower 
end  there  was  a passage  extending  some  distance  into 


Positions  75,  65  (return).  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


285 


the  mountain  horizontally,  and  at  its  termination  a large 
chamber.  In  this  chamber,  doubtless  on  some  dark 
night,  the  mummies  of  Egypt’s  greatest  kings  were 
assembled,  and  before  any  one  had  discovered  the 
shaft,  it  was  filled  up  with  stones  and  sand,  and  the 
top  was  covered  with  sand  like  the  rest  of  the  slope 
which  you  see  there.  For  over  3,000  years  the  Pha- 
raohs slept  undisturbed  in  their  hiding-place.  Then 
in  the  early  seventies  of  the  last  century,  the  mortuary 
furniture  of  several  royal  tombs  was  found  in  the 
hands  of  various  dealers  in  antiquities,  and  it  was 
known  that  the  Theban  natives  must  have  discovered 
the  material  in  this  cemetery.  For  years  these  things 
mysteriously  appeared  and  were  offered  for  sale  in 
various  places.  Finally,  through  fear,  and  hope  of 
reward,  one  of  the  brothers  who  had  been  plundering 
the  ancient  hiding-place  of  the  royal  mummies  be- 
trayed its  location  to  the  Mudir  of  Keneh.  Emil 
Brugsch  Bey  was  the  first  European  to  see  the  bodies, 
and  he  thus  describes  his  experience  on  first  entering 
the  long-hidden  chamber  up  there  in  the  mountain : 
“Every  inch  of  the  subterranean  passage  was  covered 
with  coffins  and  antiquities  of  all  kinds.  My  astonish- 
ment was  so  overpowering  that  I scarcely  knew 
whether  I was  awake  or  whether  it  was  only  a mock- 
ing dream.  Resting  on  a coffin,  in  order  to  recover 
from  my  intense  excitement,  I mechanically  cast  my 
eyes  over  the  coffin-lid,  and  distinctly  saw  the  name 
of  King  Sethos  I,  the  father  of  Ramses  II,  both  belong- 
ing to  the  19th  Dynasty.  A few  steps  further  on,  in  a 
simple  wooden  coffin,  with  his  hands  crossed  on  his 

breast,  lay  Ramses  II The  farther  I advanced,  the 

greater  was  the  wealth  displayed,  here  Amenophis  I, 


Position  65.  Maps  3,  8,  9. 


286  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

there  Amosis,  the  three  Thutmosis’s,  Queen  Ahmes- 
nofertari,  Queen  Aahhotep,  all  the  mummies  well 
preserved ; in  all  thirty-six  coffins,  belonging  to  kings 

and  their  wives  or  to  princes  and  princesses ” 

This  was  on  the  5th  of  July,  1881.  Six  days  later 
they  had  been  loaded  on  board  the  government 
steamer,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  museum  author- 
ities, and  the  great  Pharaohs  who  had  been  wont  to 
sail  the  Nile  in  the  gorgeous  state  barge,  now  jour- 
neyed down  the  river  in  a modern  steamboat.  For 
forty  miles  below  Thebes,  on  both  sides  of  the  river, 
the  women  gathered  on  the  banks  with  loosened  hair, 
following  it  with  cries  and  shrieks  of  lamentation,  as 
at  a native  funeral,  just  as  their  peasant  ancestors 
must  have  done  when  these  great  kings  were  borne 
to  their  last  rest,  across  this  plain  where  we  now 
stand,  3,500  years  ago.  For  five  years  they  lay  at 
the  palace  in  Bulak  (a  suburb  of  Cairo)  used  at  that 
time  as  a museum  building,  and  on  June  1st,  1886,  at 
the  desire  of  the  Khedive,  they  were  unrolled. 

Then  were  brought  to  light  those  venerable  forms 
which  had  once  sat  upon  the  throne  of*Eg>'pt,  and  the 
conquerors  of  Asia  and  of  Nubia  stood  before  us  in  the 
flesh,  as  you  have  seen  one  of  them  in  the  new  Cairo 
Museum.  Thus  Egypt  preserves  for  us  not  merely  the 
magnificent  buildings  of  the  conquerors,  the  sculptured 
stories  of  their  great  deeds,  their  household  furniture 
and  their  portraits  in  stone,  but  even  the  actual  faces 
and  forms,  which  once  the  great  spirit  of  the  Pharaoh 
had  animated. 

Out  here  on  the  right,  much  further  east,  another 
such  hiding-place  was  discovered  in  February,  1891, 
which  contained  no  less  than  163  mummies  of  priests 
and  officials  of  high’  rank  under  the  19th,  20th  and 


Position  65.  Maps  3,  8,  9, 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


287 


21st  Dynasties,  whose  tombs,  which  we  see  up  yonder 
in  the  cliff,  had  been  rifled.  To  save  the  bodies  and  their 
mortuary  furniture  from  destruction,  their  descend- 
ants had  thus  gathered  them  together  and  concealed 
them  like  those  of  the  kings.  If  you  will  look  on  Map 
9,  just  south  of  the  Der  el-Bahri  temple,  you  may  find 
the  spot  where  the  secret  shaft  for  the  kings’  bodies 
was  sunk.  It  is  marked  “Kings’  Shaft”;  but  that  of 
the  priests  and  nobles  is  not  indicated. 

We  go  now  to  the  mortuary  temple  of  Sethos  I. 
Our  position  is  given  in  the  lower  right-hand  corner 
of  Map  9 by  the  lines  numbered  76. 

Position  70.  LooJcing  north  to  the  niartuary  tem- 
ple of  Sethos  I at  Thebes 

We  have  already  visited  the  tomb  of  Sethos  I in  the 
great  valley  of  royal  tombs,  and  we  are  now  looking 
at  the  remains  of  the  chapel  of  that  tomb.  We  face 
almost  due  north,  with  the  river  on  our  right  and  the 
cliffs  on  our  left  (Map  9).  Behind  us  is  the  west- 
ern plain  of  Thebes,  for  this  is  the  northernmost  of 
the  mortuary  temples,  and  our  next  visit  will  be  to 
the  southernmost  of  these  temples,  the  one  at  Medinet 
Habu.  As  Sethos  I’s  father,  Ramses  I,  whose  tomb  door 
we  saw  beside  that  of  his  son  in  the  valley,  had  evi- 
dently died  without  having  been  able  to  construct  such 
a temple  for  himself,  Sethos  I shared  his  own  temple 
with  his  father,  as  we  shall  see.  But  Sethos  I died  before 
he  finished  it,  and  his  son,  Ramses  II,  the  builder  of 
the  Ramesseum,  completed  the  work  and  appropriated 
a part  of  this  building  for  himself.  Thus  it  is  really  a 
composite  chapel  for  the  kings  of  three  generations. 


Positions  65,  76.  Maps  3,  9. 


288 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


This  colonnade  before  us  formed  the  rear  of  the  sec- 
ond court.  The  two  pylons  in  front  of  the  two  courts 
have  utterly  perished.  Thus  we  have  preserved  to-day 
only  the  rear  of  the  temple  from  the  back  of  the  sec- 
ond court  on.  The  colonnade  is  built  of  clustered 
papyrus  bud  columns,  of  which  there  were  originally 
ten,  but  only  eight,  you  see,  have  survived.  In  the 
wall  behind  these  columns  are  three  doors;  you  can 
see  the  one  in  the  middle,  and  the  one  at  this  end,  but 
the  door  at  the  other  end  is  concealed  by  the  columns. 
This  first  door  leads  to  the  chapel  of  the  grandfather, 
Ramses  I ; the  middle  door  to  the  main  sanctuary,  that 
of  the  father,  Sethos  I ; while  the  furthest  door,  which 
we  cannot  see,  leads  to  the  hall  of  the  grandson,  Ram- 
ses II,  who  completed  the  building.  The  main  sanc- 
tuary is  also  sacred  to  Amon,  as  all  these  mortuary 
chapels  were  dedicated  both  to  the  dead  king  and  to 
Amon,  the  state  god.  This  temple  marks  for  us  the 
beginning  of  the  19th  Dynasty,  in  the  middle  of  the 
14th  century  B.  C.  At  the  other  or  southern  end  of  the 
line  of  western  temples,  we  shall  find  that  of  Medinet 
Habu,  which  belongs  at  the  beginning  of  the  20th 
Dynasty,  early  in  the  12th  century  B.  C.  Thus  we 
have  at  the  two  ends  of  the  temple  line,  the  two  build- 
ings which  mark  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  nearly 
two  hundred  years,  lying  between  the  14th  and  the 
early  12th  centuries  B.  C. ; while  the  temples  of  the 
preceding  two  hundred  and  thirty  years,  that  is,  of 
the  18th  Dynasty,  are  grouped  in  the  middle  of  the 
line. 

We  shall  return  now  to  our  former  position,  68. 
See  Map  9. 


Position  76.  Maps  3,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


289 


Return  to  Position  68.  Looking  south  over  the 
Theban  plain  and  the  temples  of  Medinet 
Habu  from  the  cemetery  of  Abd  el-Kuma 

We  have  looked  out  over  this  splendid  prospect  be- 
fore, when  we  climbed  up  here  to  visit  the  tomb  of 
Sen-nofer.  As  you  will  remember,  we  are  facing 
almost  due  south  (a  little  west),  on  our  left  are  Kar- 
nak,  the  river  and  the  western  plain,  of  which  we  have 
the  southern  extension  before  us  (IVIaps  8 and  9). 
Behind  us  are  Der  el-Bahri,  and  that  long  reach  of  the 
river  on  its  northward  journey,  which  we  saw  from  the 
heights  over  the  terraced  temple  (Position  73).  In 
the  distance  on  the  left  we  see  the  eastern  cliffs  drop- 
ping to  the  river,  which  is  not  visible,  though  it  flows 
along  at  the  foot  of  the  heights,  there  where  the  point 
descends  to  the  plain.  Those  heights  are  about  fifteen 
miles  away,  and  they  bound  on  the  south  the  Theban 
plain  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  The  stretch  of 
fields  between  those  distant  cliffs  and  these  on  which 
we  now  stand  is  one  of  the  most  fertile  districts  in 
Egypt,  as  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful. 

The  little  white  house  directly  before  us,  with  five 
windows  in  the  front,  and  flanked  by  a group  of  trees,  is 
the  home  of  Mr.  Newberry,  who  has  carried  on  excava- 
tions in  the  Theban  cemetery  for  years,  and  occupies 
this  house  every  winter.  In  the  summer,  when  the 
excessive  heat  does  not  permit  the  continuance  of  such 
work,  it  is  unoccupied  and  left  in  charge  of  a servant. 
The  excavating  archaeologist,  however,  does  not  al- 
ways have  as  comfortable  quarters  as  we  see  here,  or 
as  we  found  at  Der  el-Bahri ; he  must  frequently  live 
in  a tent,  or  in  a hastily  constructed  hut  of  sun-dried 
brick,  material  which  can  be  found  on  almost  any 
ancient  site ; or  what  is  best  of  all,  he  moves  into  one 


Position  68  (return).  Maps  3,  9. 


290  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

of  these  tomb  chapels  here,  which  form  a high,  dry, 
clean  and  comfortable  lodging  if  properly  furnished. 
Some  of  the  tombs  here  are  known  by  the  names  of 
the  great  Egyptologists  who  have  lived  in  them  while 
working  at  Thebes.  In  so  doing,  the  Egyptologist 
simply  follows  the  example  of  the  natives,  who  occupy 
these  tomb  chambers  in  large  numbers,  and  many  a 
fine  inscription  or  important  painting  has  been  de- 
stroyed because  a native  has  lived  in  the  chamber 
himself  with  his  family,  or  kept  his  buffalo  cow  and 
his  chickens  there.  Thus  the  chamber  where  some 
high-born  Egyptian  gentlemen  had  expected  to  lodge 
for  all  eternity  is  now  the  shelter  of  his  degenerate 
descendants,  or  has  even  become  their  cattle  shed. 
This  is,  of  course,  no  longer  allowed  in  a chamber 
where  any  inscriptions  of  value  can  still  be  recovered. 

Over  the  shoulder  of  the  next  hill  you  see  the  mass- 
ive towers  of  Medinet  Habu.  The  main  building 
there  is  the  latest  in  this  line  of  western  temples,  as  it 
is  also  the  southern  end  of  the  line.  You  will  remem- 
ber that  we  have  just  visited  the  north  end  at  Kurna. 
This  temple  before  us  was  built  by  Ramses  III,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  20th  Dynasty,  early  in  the  12th  cen- 
tury B.  C.  It  is  the  last  great  building  of  the  old 
native  Pharaohs,  and  marks  the  final  effort  of  a de- 
cadent people  to  withstand  the  inevitable  decline  into 
which  they  have  fallen ; a hopeless  struggle,  after 
which  they  sank  lower  and  lower  to  the  end.  On  the 
right  of  the  group  you  discern  the  great  pylons  of  the 
main  temple,  bathed  in  sunshine — two  of  them,  each 
divided  as  usual  into  two  towers,  the  interval  between 
the  towers  looking  like  a notch  in  the  top  of  each 
pylon.  That  is  the  great  temple  of  Ramses  III.  On 
the  left  of  the  group,  but  not  at  the  extreme  left,  you 


Position  68.  Maps  3,  9. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


291 


see  a square  tower  standing  alone,  with  two  windows 
on  each  side.  That  tower  is  one  of  a pair,  the  other 
being  so  in  the  shadow  that  you  can  hardly  make  it 
out,  which  formed  the  monumental  entrance  to  a great 
palace  of  Ramses  III,  which  stood  before  his  temple. 
The  palace  was  built  of  sun-dried  brick  and  has  per- 
ished, but  the  entrance  towers,  being  of  stone,  have 
survived,  and  to-day  form  the  only  specimen  of  such 
architecture  which  we  have  in  Egypt.  They  are  usu- 
ally called  the  Pavilion.  On  the  left  of  the  Pavilion 
you  observe  some  indistinct  buildings  forming  the  ex- 
treme left  of  the  whole  group ; these  are  the  ruins  of 
a small  temple  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  which  was  begun 
nearly  four  hundred  years  before  the  large  temple 
of  Ramses  III. 

We  shall  now  stand  on  the  front  wall  of  brick,  of 
which  the  Pavilion  formed  the  entrance,  and  looking 
almost  due  north,  toward  our  present  point  of  view, 
we  shall  inspect  the  great  first  pylon  of  Ramses  Ill’s 
temple.  This  next  standpoint  and  our  field  of  vision 
from  it  are  given  on  Map  9 b}^  the  red  lines  numbered 
77,  which  start  in  the  lower  left-hand  corner  of  the 
map  and  extend  north.  The  particular  portions  of  the 
temple  we  are  to  see  are  shown  by  these  red  lines  77  on 
Plan  15. 

Position  77.  The  first  pylon  of  Ramses  Ill’s  great 
mortnary  temple  at  Medinet  Hahu  (view 
north),  Thebes 

This  is  the  best-preserved  temple  which  we  have  yet 
seen.  We  shall  meet  only  two  more  so  perfectly  pre- 
served as  this — ^the  Edfu  temple  and  the  temple  of 
Philse,  which  are  still  before  us ; but  we  may  compare 


Positions  68,  77.  Maps  3,  9.  Plan  15. 


292  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  Denderah  temple,  also  a remarkably  perfect  struc- 
ture, which  we  have  already  visited.  This  temple 
faces  almost  exactly  southeast,  so  that  as  we  here  look 
obliquely  across  the  front  we  are  facing  almost  due 
north  (Plan  15).  On  our  right  is  the  southern  end  of 
the  western  plain,  beyond  which  are  Luxor  and  the 
river  (Maps  8 and  9).  Before  us  in  a line  just  out- 
side the  extreme  right  of  our  field  of  vision,  extends  the 
row  of  western  temples,  from  the  latest  here,  through 
the  18th  Dynasty  in  the  middle,  to  Kurna,  and  its  tem- 
ple of  Sethos  I at  the  extreme  north.  The  southern 
slope  of  Shekh  Abd  el-Kurna  rises  between  the  pylon 
and  these  rough  brick,  which  frame  in  our  field  close  on 
the  right,  but  the  latter  prevent  us  from  seeing  the 
place  where  we  stood  as  we  looked  down  upon  this 
temple  (Position  68).  It  is  further  to  the  right  than 
those  tomb  openings  which  you  observe  in  the  face  of 
the  cliff.  The  pylon  before  us  was  once  closed  by  the 
palace  “outer  court,”  of  which  this  wall,  on  which  we 
are  now  standing,  was  the  front.  The  Pavilion  form- 
ing the  entrance  to  the  palace  is  on  the  right,  now  out 
of  range,  but  in  line  with  this  brick  wall  beneath  our 
feet,  which  you  will  be  able  to  locate  on  the  plan  (No. 
15).  The  pylon  shows  the  panels  for  the  reception  of 
the  tall  flagstaves,  as  we  have  seen  them  before, 
but  the  colossal  statues  of  the  king,  which  usually 
rise  before  the  pylon,  are  missing.  The  pylon  itself 
bears  two  symmetrical  representations,  one  on  the  front 
of  each  tower,  outside  of  the  panels.  There  in  relief 
we  see  the  king  slaying  his  captives  before  Amon,  in 
a scene  exactly  like  that  of  Shishak,  which  we  visited 
at  Kamak.  The  god  presents  to  King  Ramses  III 
a list  of  cities  and  countries,  which  covers  the  whole 
front  of  the  pylon  below  them,  and  embraces  almost 


Position  77.  Maps  3,  9.  Pian  15. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


293 


all  such  names  known  to  the  Egyptians,  which  the 
accommodating  scribe,  who  put  together  the  list  for 
the  king,  copied  from  the  similar  lists  which  he  found 
at  Kamak,  without  stopping  to  inquire  whether  the 
king  had  ever  really  campaigned  in  those  countries. 
Perhaps  we  must  pardon  the  unlimited  mendacity  of 
this  list,  when  we  recollect  that  this  temple  is  a chron- 
ological record  of  the  reign  of  this  king,  which  con- 
tains some  of  the  most  severe  wars  through  which 
Egypt  ever  passed,  wars  in  which  the  king  won  him- 
self a name  and  fame  which  he  quite  deserved.  Few 
kings  have  put  so  much  upon  temple  walls  as  Ramses 
III.  Those  in  the  rear  of  the  temple,  which  we  can- 
not see  from  here,  contain  records  of  his  great  war 
with  the  Libyans  in  his  fifth  year;  that  is  the  oldest 
part  of  the  temple.  In  the  middle  we  find  the  ac- 
counts of  his  dangerous  war  with  the  sea  peoples  of 
the  north,  which  we  shall  later  view,  and  finally  the 
front  and  back  of  this  first  pylon  bear  the  records  of 
his  second  Libyan  war  in  his  twelfth  year.  Thus,  as 
his  temple  grew  from  rear  to  front,  the  king  was  al- 
ways passing  through  or  had  juct  concluded  some  great 
war  which  found  place  on  the  walls.  As  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  temple  cannot  be  compared  with  the 
beautiful  creations  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  we  shall  not 
spend  any  time  on  the  courts  and  halls,  but  shall  ex- 
amine some  of  the  more  interesting  reliefs.  Those  on 
this  side  of  the  temple,  on  the  outside  of  the  wall,  be- 
hind the  first  pylon,  are  devoted  to  the  peaceful  pur- 
suits and  religious  duties  of  the  king,  while  those  on 
the  other,  or  corresponding,  side  are  records  of  the 
king’s  wars.  On  the  back  of  the  pylon,  where  it  pro- 
jects beyond  the  side  wall,  here  at  the  left  is  a wild 
bull  hunt,  which  is  well  worth  our  inspection,  and  to 


Position  77.  Maps  3,  9.  Pian  IS. 


294  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

this  scene  we  shall  first  go.  See  red  lines  numbered 
78  on  our  Plan  15. 

Position  7 8.  The  hunting  of  the  wild  hull  depicted 
on  the  temple  wall  of  Ramses  III,  Medinet 
Hahn,  Thebes 

This  is  one  of  the  most  spirited  scenes  that  an 
Egyptian  sculptor  has  ever  wrought.  The  king,  with 
reins  slackened  and  hanging  in  a distinct  curve  from 
his  waist,  urges  on  his  plumed  horses  as  they  dash 
after  the  great  bull,  plunging  through  the  reeds  in  the 
vain  endeavor  to  escape  to  the  river.  Poising  his  long 
lance  ready  for  the  fatal  thrust,  the  eager  Pharaoh 
leans  far  over  the  front  of  his  chariot,  and  as  he 
strains  to  reach  the  fleeing  prey  he  has  placed  one 
foot  out  upon  the  chariot  pole,  thus  disarranging  his 
quiver,  which  hangs  awry  beneath  the  offending  leg. 
Beneath  the  horses  we  see  one  victim  brought  down 
upon  his  back,  with  the  noose  of  a lasso  around  his 
hind  legs,  and  two  broken  lances  in  his  body ; while 
further  away  in  the  thicket  is  another  with  head 
thrown  back  in  the  convulsions  of  death,  and  feet  paw- 
ing the  air.  All  this  has  been  caught  by  the  artist 
with  a fine  abandon  that  is  admirable.  The  particular 
victim  pursued  by  the  king,  has  fallen  at  the  brink  of 
the  river,  his  tongue  hangs  out  in  the  exhaustion  of 
a long  flight,  the  reeds  bending  over  him  offer  scant 
protection,  and  another  instant  will  see  the  king’s  long 
lance  in  his  throat.  The  river  itself,  which  occupies 
the  lower  right-hand  corner,  is  filled  with  fish,  and 
towards  its  curving  shores  marches  a line  of  the  king’s 
archers,  some  of  them  assisting  him  with  an  occa- 
sional shaft.  In  such  pastimes  as  these  the  warlike  Pha- 
raohs of  the  Empire  were  wont  to  spend  their 


Position  78.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  IS. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


295 


time,  when  war,  the  cares  of  state  or  the  waning  at- 
tractions of  the  harem  permitted.  Now  imagine  the 
river  colored  blue,  the  waving  reeds  green,  the  bulls 
a mottled  brown  with  white  bellies,  the  horses  white, 
the  Pharaoh  brown,  with  white  linen  kilt,  and  the 
chariot  in  all  the  gayest  of  hues,  and  you  will  gain  a 
hint  of  the  original  effect  of  this  sculpture.  It  was 
no  common  master  who  put  this  scene  on  the  wall,  for 
he  has  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  hunt  with  a sym- 
pathy and  fine  feeling,  which  far  surpass  the  usual 
conventionality  of  such  scenes.  Upon  the  common 
people  of  that  remote  day,  when  the  Pharaohs  flour- 
ished, such  temple  scenes  as  this  must  have  exerted  a 
marked  influence;  and  we  can  imagine  the  multitude 
of  ancient  Thebes  standing  in  awed  admiration  before 
these  exploits  of  the  Pharaoh,  as  do  these  modern  de- 
scendants of  theirs,  who  insistently  offer  us  the  dubi- 
ous privilege  of  a drink  from  their  gullehs,or  water  bot- 
tles, always  expecting  a return  in  coin  for  their  trouble. 

The  wall  before  us,  you  know,  is  the  back  of  the  first 
pylon  (Plan  15)  ; you  see  the  end  of  the  pylon  here 
on  the  right,  marked  with  its  two  huge  cylindrical 
beads  on  the  edge  of  the  comer,  as  the  wall  slants  in- 
ward. The  angle  on  the  left  is  formed  by  the  side  wall 
of  the  first  court,  of  which  the  pylon  before  us  forms 
the  front.  We  shall  now  view  some  of  the  scenes  out- 
side of  this  same  court,  but  on  the  other  side.  See  the 
lines  marked  79  on  Plan  15. 

Position  79.  Scenes  of  battle  and  the  chase  on  the 
wall  of  Ramses  Ill’s  Temple,  Medinet  Habn, 
Thebes 

This  is  the  massive  side  wall  of  the  temple,  enclos- 
ing the  second  court.  Over  its  hollow  cornice  you 


Positions  78,  79.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  15. 


296  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

can  see  the  back  of  the  first  pylon  (Plan  15)  ; it  was 
just  below  its  further  corner,  outside  of  the  court  on 
the  other  side  of  the  temple,  that  we  viewed  the  bull 
hunt  just  now.  We  are  looking  almost  southward  and 
Der  el-Bahri  and  the  tombs  of  Shekh  Abd  el-Kurna 
are  behind  us,  while  the  river  and  Karnak  are  on  the 
left. 

How  marvelously  preserved  is  this  temple  wall 
compared  with  the  walls  which  we  have  seen  at  Kar- 
nak. Even  the  top  stones  of  the  cornice  are  still  all 
in  place,  and  the  reliefs  have  only  lost  the  bright 
colors  which  once  brought  them  out  with  clearness 
and  vigor.  We  can  here  gain  an  idea  of  the  finished 
appearance  of  the  ancient  temples,  as  well  as  of  the 
succession  of  great  events,  which  found  record  on  the 
temple  walls  as  they  advanced  from  year  to  year.  As 
we  stand,  the  rear  of  the  temple  is  at  the  right  and 
the  front  at  the  left;  we  are  looking  at  the  middle 
portion  of  the  wall,  so  that  the  early  war  of  the  king’s 
fifth  year  is  out  of  our  field  on  the  right,  the  scenes 
before  us  are  of  the  year  eight,  and  out  of  range  on 
the  left  are  those  of  the  year  twelve.  The  king’s  wars 
thus  progress  from  right  to  left,  as  we  pass  from  the 
rear  to  the  front.  At  the  top  of  the  wall,  in  hiero- 
glyphs over  two  feet  high,  is  a long  inscription  re- 
citing the  power  and  might  of  the  Pharaoh,  and  below 
this  are  exploits  which  justify  this  laudation.  You 
see  the  king’s  grooms  over  the  door  holding  the  royal 
horses.  The  chariot  to  which  they  are  harnessed  is 
empty  and  idle,  but  the  usual  occupant  is  far  from 
idle.  Do  you  observe  him  standing  just  behind  the 
chariot,  a heroic  figure  towering  above  all  his  attend- 
ants as  with  drawn  bow  he  discharges  a hail  of  ar- 
rows among  the  foe?  The  latter  you  can  hardly  dis- 


position 79.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  15. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


297 


cem,  but  they  are  of  the  greatest  interest;  for  that 
apparently  bare  space  before  the  king  and  his  com- 
panions is  occupied  by  a mass  of  struggling  ships, 
forming  the  earliest  known  representation  of  a naval 
battle.  From  here  you  can  make  out  the  forms  of  the 
ships,  looking  like  new  moons,  and  one  on  a level  with 
the  king’s  feet  and  to  the  left  is  especially  clear.  The 
enemy  who  are  thus  attacking  the  king’s  fleet  are 
called  “people  of  the  sea”  in  the  inscriptions,  and 
one  tribe  who  were  defeated,  either  at  this  time  or 
later,  settled  on  the  southern  coast  of  Palestine  and 
became  the  Philistines  of  Hebrew  times.  They  are 
Cretans.  Others  are  Sardinians  and  Etruscans,  whom 
we  find  for  the  first  time  on  historical  monuments  here. 
Ramses  III  has  already  defeated  their  land  forces 
and  is  now  assisting  in  the  destruction  of  their 
fleet.  The  “people  of  the  sea”  from  Asia  Minor 
and  the  Mediterranean  islands  constituted  one  of  the 
gravest  dangers  that  ever  threatened  Egypt.  Their 
invasion  was  successfully  met  and  turned  back  by 
Ramses  III,  and  we  may  pardon  the  pride  with  which 
he  has  immortalized  the  deed  upon  this  temple  wall. 
On  the  right  of  the  door  we  see  him  in  his  chariot 
engaged  in  a lion  hunt,  a diversion  in  which  he  evi- 
dently indulged  himself  on  this  campaign,  for  it  is  de- 
picted among  the  scenes  of  the  war  with  the  “peoples 
of  the  sea.”  One  lion,  rolling  upon  his  back,  is 
breathing  his  last,  while  another,  bristling  with  ar- 
rows, flees  into  the  thicket,  closely  pursued  by  the 
king.  Each  of  the  numerous  reliefs  in  this  temple 
is  accompanied  by  inscriptions  telling  who  the  enemy 
are,  sometimes  where  the  battle  took  place,  and  often 
exactly  how  many  of  the  enemy  were  killed  and  taken 
prisoner. 


Position  79.  Maps  3,  8.  Plan  15. 


298  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

This  temple  of  King  Ramses  III  forms  the  most  com- 
plete historical  record  of  a king’s  reign  which  has  sur- 
vived to  us  from  this  ancient  people,  for  it  was  the 
work  of  one  king  and  not  a slow  growth  through  many 
centuries  like  the  temple  at  Kamak.  But  it  is  the  last 
great  monument  of  the  native  kings,  and  it  likewise 
records  the  last  great  victories  of  the  Tlieban  Pha- 
raohs. From  now  on  Thebes  is  distinctly  on  the  de- 
cline, and  the  seat  of  power  is  in  the  north,  which  we 
have  left  behind  us,  in  the  Delta,  where  the  Libyans 
are  henceforth  gradually  gaining  the  upper  hand.  We 
have  seen  how  the  expanding  halls  of  Karnak  ex- 
pressed the  increasing  power  of  the  conquering  Pha- 
raohs, but  here  at  Medinet  Habu  we  see  Thebes  al- 
ready entering  the  decline  which  left  her  the  desolate 
ruin  which  we  have  found  her. 

We  proceed  now  up  the  Nile  to  the  ruins  of  the 
ancient  city  of  El  Kab.  Turn  to  our  general  Map  of 
Egypt,  Map  3,  and  you  find  this  city  nearly  fifty  miles 
south  of  Thebes,  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Nile. 
The  red  lines  numbered  80  there  show  that  we  are  to 
look  southwest  over  the  city  and  the  river. 

Position  80.  Walled  city  of  El  Eah,  ancient  capi- 
tal of  Upper  Egypt,  southwest  from  the  door 
of  a cliff-tomb 

The  scene  upon  which  we  look,  if  not  one  of  great 
beauty,  is  nevertheless  one  invested  with  the  greatest 
interest  when  we  know  what  we  have  before  us.  We 
have  taken  up  our  position  in  the  eastern  cliffs,  at  a 
point  where  the  river  flows  northwestward  (Map  3)  ; 
hence  we  look  southwestward  from  this  tomb  door 
across  the  eastern  plain,  the  river  and  the  fields  on 


Positions  79,  80.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


299 


the  other  side,  to  the  distant  western  cliffs.  Thebes  is 
now  forty-four  miles  off  to  our  right,  Cairo  is  three 
hundred  and  ninety-eight  miles  away. 

That  sombre  gray  wall  which  we  see  beginning  on  the 
left  and  extending  as  far  as  the  eye  can  follow  on  the 
right,  is  the  fortified  wall  of  the  city  of  El  Kab,  known 
to  the  ancient  Egyptians  as  Nekhab.  It  is  the  only  city 
wall,  practically  intact,  which  has  survived  from  such 
a remote  age,  in  any  country ; for  it  was  erected  at 
least  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  not  less  than  2,000  years 
before  Christ,  and  possibly  much  earlier!  You  will 
not  wonder  that  it  has  survived  when  you  know  that 
it  is  nearly  40  feet  thick.  The  river  has  cut  off  one 
corner,  but  otherwise  it  is  almost  intact.  It  encloses  a 
space  over  1,800  feet  long  and  almost  as  wide.  The 
interest  and  importance  attaching  to  the  city  are  due 
to  the  fact  that  it  was  the  capital  of  that  enormously 
ancient  kingdom  of  Upper  Egypt,  which  existed  here 
before  it  was  united  with  the  Delta  kingdom,  and  the 
two  kingdoms  merged  into  one  nation  of  Egypt.  In 
yonder  city,  dwelt  the  rulers  of  this  remotest  kingdom. 
Their  divinity  was  a vulture-goddess,  and  when  the 
two  kingdoms  were  united  she  became  the  patron  god- 
dess of  Upper  Egypt.  If  you  will  turn  back  to  the 
battles  of  Sethos  I on  the  Karnak  wall  (Position  62), 
you  will  see  there  hovering  over  the  king’s  head  the 
vulture-goddess  of  this  city,  with  wings  outspread  in 
protection  over  his  head. 

In  historic  times  the  strong  city  which  stood  here 
was  the  seat  of  a family  of  powerful  barons,  who  had 
much  to  do  with  the  rise  of  Thebes.  They  assisted 
the  Theban  princes  in  expelling  the  Hyksos,  and  were 
the  particular  favorites  of  the  Theban  Pharaohs  in 
the  days  of  their  power.  We  may  indeed  call  them 


Position  80.  Map  3. 


300 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


also,  as  we  did  those  of  Assiut,  the  “king-makers” 
of  ancient  Egypt.  Their  tombs  filled  the  cliffs  here  all 
about  us,  and  the  walls  of  these  chambers  bear  many 
a heroic  story  of  battle  and  victory  in  the  Pharaoh’s 
cause,  for  these  nobles,  choosing  for  life  the  profes- 
sion of  arms,  entered  the  Pharaoh’s  standing  army, 
and  the  local  baron  of  the  feudal  age  is  gradually 
metamorphosed  into  the  royal  official,  living  at  court 
and  serving  in  the  royal  army.  These  tombs,  there- 
fore, signalize  for  us  the  transition  from  the  Middle 
Kingdom  to  the  Empire,  from  a feudal  to  a military 
empire,  like  that  of  Napoleon.  How  utterly  all  those 
ancient  political  and  social  changes  have  vanished,  as 
far  as  the  people  of  the  valley  at  the  present  day  are 
concerned ! If  you  were  to  ask  one  of  these  native 
watchmen  about  all  this,  he  would  look  at  you 
vaguely  and  say  that  the  tombs  were  made  by  the 
“people  of  Pharaoh,”  and  they  may  have  lived  even 
before  “our  lord  Mohammed.”  Of  the  people  of  Pha- 
raoh he  has  heard  in  the  Koran,  but  he  does  not  know 
that  he  is  himself  a son  of  that  very  people,  with  the 
blood  of  the  antique  princes  of  this  city  flowing  in  his 
veins. 

On  the  opposite,  or  western  side,  of  the  Nile,  a few 
miles  further  to  our  left  (south),  than  we  can  now 
see,  is  the  temple  of  Edfu,  which  we  shall  visit  next. 
See  Map  3.  Our  first  position  will  be  on  the  west 
side  of  the  temple,  from  which  point  we  shall  look  east 
over  the  great  pylons  and  the  Nile.  See  the  Plan  16, 
on  which  the  lines  numbered  81  show  just  what  portion 
of  the  temple  we  are  to  see. 


Position  80.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


301 


Position  81.  The  pylons  and  the  court  of  the  Tem- 
ple of  Horus  at  Edfu  (looking  east  to  the  Nile) 

One  might  almost  expect  to  see  the  gorgeous  pro- 
cession of  the  god  moving  out  across  the  court  so  per- 
fect is  the  condition  of  this  temple.  Indeed,  there  is  no 
ancient  temple  which  can  compare  with  it  in  preserva- 
tion, for  with  the  exception  of  the  lost  colors,  it  is  almost 
as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  the  architect.  It  is,  to  be 
sure,  not  the  oldest  of  the  Egyptian  temples,  dating, 
as  it  does,  entirely  from  the  Ptolemaic  epoch.  There 
was,  of  course,  a much  older  temple  on  this  spot,  but 
this  present  building  was  begun  by  Ptolemy  III  in  237 
B.  C,  and  the  building  was  completed  as  it  now  is  in 
57  B.  C.,  having  been  180  years  in  course  of  construc- 
tion. 

We  are  now  approaching  the  sandstone  region, 
and  this  temple  is  constructed  of  sandstone,  although 
those  which  we  have  thus  far  seen  were  chiefly  lime- 
stone, with  some  granite  trimmings.  This  building 
is  exactly  in  a north  and  south  line,  so  that  the  pylon 
on  our  right  faces  the  south.  We  are  looking  across 
the  court  eastward,  to  the  palms  that  fringe  the  river, 
and  the  eastern  cliffs  rising  behind  them  (Plan  16  and 
Map  3).  Behind  the  temple  are  a few  whitewashed 
houses  of  modern  Edfu,  with  a palm  or  two  swaying 
lazily  in  the  courts ; while  at  the  right  rises  the 
minaret  of  the  modern  village  mosque,  not  by  any 
means  in  as  good  a state  of  repair  as  the  temple  we  are 
about  to  enter.  This  is  the  first  Ptolemaic  temple  we 
have  visited,  although  the  temple  of  Denderah  was 
begun  under  the  Ptolemies ; but  we  could  not  see  the 
rear  halls  which  they  erected.  We  must  therefore 
note  one  point  which  distinguishes  it  from  the  tem- 
ples of  the  Empire.  You  notice  that  the  colon- 


Posltlon  81.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


302 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


naded  portico  around  the  court,  extends  also  across 
the  front  of  it,  along  the  back  of  the  pylon.  This 
feature  we  have  not  seen  before,  and  as  we  shall  ob- 
serve from  our  next  point  of  view,  it  is  paralleled  by  a 
corresponding  change  at  the  rear  of  the  court. 

The  top  of  these  splendid  pylon  towers  affords  a view 
of  the  temple  and  the  surrounding  country,  and  we 
shall  later  take  up  our  position  there  and  look  along 
the  axis  of  the  temple  toward  the  north  (our  left), 
in  a line  at  right  angles  with  our  present  line  of  sight. 
The  top  of  the  towers  is  gained  by  a staircase  within ; 
two  doors  in  the  back  of  the  pylon  leading  from  these 
inner  staircases  to  the  top  of  the  wall  of  the  court 
before  us,  you  can  clearly  see  from  here.  Higher 
up,  in  the  back  of  the  pylon  and  here  at  the  end  are 
the  windows  by  which  the  stairway  of  242  steps  is 
lighted.  The  monotonous  reliefs  on  the  pylon,  re- 
peated, over  and  over  again,  represent  King  Neos 
Dionysos,  the  thirteenth  Ptolemy  (80-52  B.  C.),  of- 
fering before  Horus  and  Hathor,  and  their  son,  the 
young  Horus,  the  divinities  of  this  temple.  For  the 
Ptolemies  did  not  record  their  warlike  exploits  on  the 
walls  of  their  temples,  as  did  the  early  Pharaohs ; but 
there  are  interesting  records  of  the  building  of  this 
temple  on  the  wall  before  us  a little  further  to  the  left. 

Immediately  in  front  of  this  wall  is  a section  of  sun- 
dried  brick  construction,  part  of  a hoyse  built  against 
the  temple.  The  accumulations  from  such  houses  had 
almost  completely  covered  the  temple,  so  that  little  but 
the  two  pylon  towers  was  visible,  until  it  was  exca- 
vated by  Mariette.  We  are  standing  on  such  accu- 
mulations outside  of  the  circle  of  excavations,  and  you 
can  see  on  the  extreme  right  the  stairway  which  leads 
down  from  the  surface  of  the  rubbish  to  the  level  of 


Position  81.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


303 


the  ancient  pavement  in  front  of  the  door,  by  which 
we  are  able  to  enter  for  the  ascent  of  the  pylon. 

We  will  ascend  now  to  the  far  side  of  this  nearer 
or  western  pylon  and  look  sharply  to  our  left  or  north 
over  the  full  length  of  the  temple.  This  new  position 
and  our  field  of  vision  are  given  by  lines  marked  82  on 
both  Plan  16  and  on  Map  3. 

Position  82.  The  wonderfully  preserved  Temple  of 
Edfu,  seen  (north)  from  the  top  of  the  first 
pylon 

What  a superb  landscape ! The  broad  plain,  broken 
up  into  fertile  fields  and  sprinkled  with  graceful  palms 
and  fleecy  acacias,  merges  into  the  ample  bosom  of 
the  river,  with  its  picturesque  sail,  behind  which  the 
yellow  cliffs  mingle  with  the  pale  skyline  beyond.  The 
soft  lines  of  the  landscape  contrast  strongly  with  the 
sharp  rectangular  contours  of  the  houses  of  the  town, 
some  of  them  looking  very  modern  indeed  with  glazed 
windows  and  hinged  shutters.  With  the  exception  of 
such  modern  innovations  as  these,  it  is  not  probable 
that  the  appearance  of  the  town  was  very  much  differ- 
ent, when  this  temple  was  built;  or  when  its  less  pre- 
tentious predecessor  of  far  earlier  date  was  erected. 
As  far  back  as  we  can  trace  the  Egyptian,  he  built 
houses  of  sun-dried  brick,  and  the  remains  of  such 
houses  still  surviving  point  to  structures,  like  those  of 
the  town  before  us.  We  need  only  imagine  a few 
chateaus  of  the  wealthy  or  of  the  local  nobles,  with 
their  surrounding  gardens,  to  complete  the  picture. 

We  stand,  you  remember,  on  the  left  or  western 
pylon  and  look  northward  (Plan  16).  As  we  are  not 
exactly  in  the  axis  of  the  temple,  we  look  diagonally 
along  its  length,  and  see  more  of  the  right  than  of  the 


Position  82.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


304’  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

left.  On  our  right  is  the  river,  which  we  see  lower 
down,  on  its  long  journey  to  Cairo  and  the  sea;  on 
our  left  is  the  western  desert ; while  behind  us  is  the 
first  cataract,  now  but  sixty-eight  miles  away.  Here 
at  our  feet  is  the  first  court  again,  which  we  saw  from 
a point  now  out  of  our  field  of  vision,  here  on  the  left. 
You  notice  on  the  right  the  colonnade  of  the  portico 
which  surrounds  the  court.  Behind  is  the  vestibule ; 
for  you  see  that  the  section  of  the  portico,  which  in 
the  older  temples  extended  across  the  back  of  the 
court,  has  now  been  raised  and  pushed  back  out  of 
the  court  to  form  a colonnaded  vestibule  leading  to 
the  hypostyle,  which  lies  still  further  back.  This  vesti- 
bule contains  .some  beautiful  columns,  especially  the 
two  with  palm  capitals,  in  the  front  row,  in  the  middle 
of  each  side.  This  front  row  is  engaged  with  a balus- 
trade, which  separates  the  vestibule  from  the  court 
outside.  Several  blocks  in  the  roof  over  the  central 
aisle  have  fallen  in,  and  another  which  is  cracked 
across  the  middle  has  been  supported  by  an  iron  rod 
to  prevent  its  threatened  fall.  Back  of  this  vestibule 
as  you  will  see  on  the  plan  (No.  16)  is  the  hypostyle. 
You  can  dimly  see  its  door  if  you  look  down  the  central 
aisle,  for  the  vestibule  has,  behind  the  front  row,  but 
two  rows  of  columns  (larger  than  those  in  front),  and 
behind  these  is  the  door  of  the  hypostyle.  It  is  not 
so  large  as  the  hypostyle  at  Karnak ; for  the  Ptolemies, 
even  had  they  felt  inclined  to  do  so,  could  not  have 
diverted  from  the  treasury  such  enormous  wealth  as 
was  required  to  erect  works  like  those  of  the  great 
Pharaohs ; nor  did  they  command  the  captive  labor 
necessary.  You  can  see  how  the  roof  drops  from  the 
vestibule  to  the  hypostyle,  back  of  which  are  two 


Position  82.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


305 


smaller  vestibules,  or  ante-chambers,  which  give  ac- 
cess to  the  Holy  of  Holies.  You  can  locate  this  last 
very  easily,  as  two  of  the  blocks  in  its  roof  have  fallen 
in,  out  yonder  in  the  middle,  making  a hole  so  sym- 
metrically placed  that  it  looks  as  if  it  were  an  inten- 
tional skylight.  But  such  is  not  at  all  the  case,  as  we 
shall  see  later  on.  Under  the  roof  around  that  hole, 
and  grouped,  as  you  can  see  on  the  plan,  are  the  minor 
chambers  of  the  temple.  This  entire  section  of  roof 
is  surrounded  by  a high  wall,  making  of  it  an  open- 
air  court,  which  was  shaded  with  canvas,  and  added 
much  to  the  roominess  of  the  temple.  Surrounding 
the  entire  temple,  behind  this  first  court  at  our  feet,  is 
a massive  girdle  wall,  which  greatly  increases  the  secur- 
ity of  the  building.  It  is  among  the  latest  additions 
to  the  temple,  while  the  chambers  in  the  rear,  which  it 
surrounds,  are  the  earliest  in  the  whole  structure. 

Could  we  here  restore  the  color  to  these  gray  stones, 
could  we  recall  the  vanished  temple  garden  with  its 
wealth  of  tropical  verdure  in  which  the  teipple  was 
embowered,  could  we  reanimate  a generation  of  the 
priests,  who  sleep  in  the  neighboring  cemetery,  and 
with  them  the  multitude,  crowded  about  the  great 
altar  which  once  stood  in  this  forecourt,  could  we  hear 
the  voices  of  the  priests  mingling  with  the  hum  of  the 
populace,  and  smell  the  fragrant  clouds  of  incense  that 
once  rose  daily  from  this  court — if  we  could  do  all 
this,  then  the  work  of  the  architect,  dropping  into  its 
proper  place  in  the  life  and  thought  of  the  people, 
would  assume  far  higher  functions  than  we  are  now 
able  to  associate  with  the  silent  courts  and  deserted 
halls,  exposed  to  the  prosaic  gaze  of  every  wandering 
tourist,  and  clothed  with  none  of  the  sombre  mystery 


Position  82.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


306  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

and  solemn  beauty,  which  it  always  conveyed  to  the 
Egyptian,  whose  god  it  sheltered. 

And  now  we  shall  penetrate  where  never  an  ancient 
Egyptian,  save  the  High  Priest  or  the  king,  was  per- 
mitted to  stand,  into  the  Holy  of  Holies,  lighted  now  by 
that  square  hole,  the  further  of  the  two  which  we  see 
in  the  roof.  See  the  lines  marked  83  on  Plan  16. 

Position  83.  The  Holy  of  Holies  and  the  granite 
shrine  for  the  divine  Image  in  the  Temple  of 
Edfu 

This  broad  band  of  sunshine  falls  through  the 
square  hole  in  the  roof  which  we  saw  but  a moment 
ago  from  the  top  of  the  pylon  tower.  For  we  are 
now  standing,  as  we  then  said,  where  only  the  king 
and  the  high  priest  were  allowed  to  enter,  in  the  Holy 
of  Holies  of  the  great  Horus  temple  of  Edfu.  What 
would  the  priestly  custodians,  who  kept  this  place  in- 
violate, have  said  could  they  have  known  that  our 
profane  feet  would  one  day  desecrate  this  place?  Here 
we  may  enter,  with  none  to  stay  us,  where  the  sacred 
processions  stopped,  as  the  High  Priest  went  in  to  per- 
form the  daily  ritual  before  the  god  in  the  holy  place, 
while  on  great  feast  days,  a multitude  of  this  man’s 
ancestors  thronged  the  court  outside.  They  were  sim- 
ple villagers  like  him,  but  they  never  saw  the  interior 
of  this  holy  chamber.  When  was  the  last  service  per- 
formed here  ? The  edict  of  the  Roman  emperor  Theo- 
dosius in  378  A.  D.,  forbade  all  further  worship  of 
the  old  gods,  enjoined  the  closing  of  all  their  temples 
and  at  least  nominal  adherence  to  Christianity ; and 
this  was  less  than  350  years  after  the  death  of  Christ. 
But  although  this  edict  was  enforced  in  Lower  Egypt, 
in  the  Delta,  which  we  have  left  over  400  miles  down 


Positions  82,  83.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


307 


river,  it  could  not  at  that  time  be  enforced  here  in 
Upper  Egypt.  The  service  of  Horus  in  this  temple 
may  have  gone  on  for  a hundred  years  more,  languish- 
ing year  by  year  as  the  temple  revenues  decreased, 
until  it  finally  ceased  altogether  some  time  in  the  5th 
century  after  Christ.  By  that  time  all  the  splendid 
temples  we  have  seen  were  deserted,  converted  into 
Christian  churches  or  filled  with  the  wretched  brick 
hovels  of  the  ragged  and  filthy  poor. 

We  are  standing  just  outside  the  door  of  the  cham- 
ber, and  you  see  the  doorpost  of  the  entrance  door  on 
the  right  (Plan  16).  The  pavement,  so  long  untrod- 
den by  priestly  feet,  is  in  places  sunken  and  depressed. 
The  walls  are  covered  with  the  closely  written  hiero- 
glyphs of  the  Ptolemaic  age,  rude  and  careless  com- 
pared with  the  beautiful  writing  of  the  classic  18th 
Dynasty.  The  reliefs  are  only  monotonous  repetitions 
of  what  we  saw  on  the  first  pylon,  that  is,  the  king 
before  one  of  the  gods  of  the  temple,  making  offer- 
ing and  sacrifice.  Oh  the  left  is  the  very  shrine  in 
which  the  sacred  image  of  the  god  was  kept,  now  open, 
bare  and  empty.  It  is  cut  out  of  one  block  of  granite 
from  the  first  cataract,  and  you  see  round  the  edge 
of  the  doorway,  the  jamb  against  which  the  solid 
bronze  door  once  closed.  It  is  covered  with  religious 
inscriptions,  and  over  the  door  we  see  the  sun-disk, 
with  the  sacred  serpents  hanging  down  on  either  side 
of  it. 

Such  a shrine  must  have  been  a splendid  object 
before  it  was  stripped  of  its  adornments.  Ramses  III 
thus  describes  one  which  he  made  for  the  temple  of 
Karnak ; “I  made  for  thee  a mysterious  shrine  in  one 
block  of  fine  granite;  the  double  doors  upon  it  were 


Position  S3.  Map  3.  Plan  16. 


308 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


of  copper  in  hammered  work,  engraved  with  thy  di- 
vine name.  Thy  great  image  rested  in  it,  like  the 
Sun-god  in  his  horizon,  established  upon  this  throne 
unto  eternity  in  thy  great  and  august  sanctuary.” 
Ramses  then  goes  on  to  describe  the  splendor  of  the 
ritual  vessels  used  in  the  service  of  the  god.  The  most 
magnificent  vessels  were  brought  before  him,  wrought 
of  silver  and  gold,  and  inlaid  with  costly  stones ; while 
the  ornaments,  which  it  was  the  king’s  duty  to  attach 
to  the  figure  of  the  god  in  this  shrine,  were  of  the 
most  costly  workmanship.  We  can  form  but  a very 
meagre  conception  of  the  riches  which  the  chambers 
around  us  here  on  every  side,  once  harbored.  But  the 
wealth  of  these  priesthoods  has  now  all  vanished, 
and  the  once  richly  filled  chambers  now  stand  bare  and 
empty  like  this  shrine.  To  one  who  knows  what  was 
once  here,  it  is  a melancholy  experience  to  stand  in 
this  place;  but  we  have  still  several  hundred  miles  of 
river  to  traverse,  and  we  must  leave  it  to  the  sombre 
memories  that  throng  so  thickly  about  it. 

The  next  stage  of  our  journey  will  take  us  to  As- 
suan. On  Map  3 you  will  find  Assuan,  nearly  seventy 
miles  south  of  Edfu  and  on  the  opposite  or  eastern 
side  of  the  river.  Our  Map  17  gives  its  location  and 
environs  in  more  detail.  The  lines  marked  84  on  this 
map  show  that  we  are  to  stand  first  on  the  western 
river  bank  and  look  south. 

Position  84,  Assuan  and  the  Island  of  Elephan- 
tine (south)  from,  the  western  cliffs  of  the 
ceinetery 

At  last  we  have  reached  the  first  goal  of  the  Nile 
tour,  the  first  cataract  (Map  3).  You  cannot  see  it 
from  here,  but  it  is  just  over  yonder  on  the  right  above 


Posltioos  83,  84.  Maps  3,  17. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


309 


the  islands  beyond  the  two  native  boys.  Our  po- 
sition is  on  the  western  cliffs,  which  you  notice  drop 
almost  sheer  to  the  water’s  edge,  and  we  look  south- 
ward across  the  river,  the  northern  end  of  the 
island  of  Elephantine  (the  larger  one),  the  little  “Island 
of  the  Sirdar”  in  the  foreground,  and  the  modern  town 
of  Assuan  on  the  other  or  eastern  shore  (Map  17). 
That  boy  faces  down  river,  that  is,  northward;  be- 
fore him  sixty-eight  miles  away  is  Edfu,  from  which 
we  have  just  come.  On  the  other  shore  you  see  the 
wild  and  tumbled  surface  of  the  eastern  desert  stretch- 
ing far  away  to  the  desolate  horizon ; behind  us  is  the 
Sahara,  even  more  melancholy  and  forbidding.  Some 
sixty-five  miles  below  Assuan,  that  is,  just  after  leav- 
ing Edfu,  we  passed  out  of  the  limestone,  and  we  are 
now  standing  with  sandstone  beneath  us,  of  which 
these  rugged  rocks  (on  the  right)  are  excellent  speci- 
mens. The  town  on  the  other  shore  has  long  marked 
the  southern  limit  of  Egypt  proper,  and  does  so  still. 
Its  name,  Assuan,  more  properly  Aswan,  is  very 
ancient.  It  is  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  (Ezekiel 
xxix,  10;  XXX,  6),  and  was  known  to  the  Greeks  as 
Syene,  but  already  occurs  long  before  Greek  or  Old 
Testament  times  in  the  Egyptian  inscriptions.  It  is 
now  a garrison  town,  and  possesses  several  hotels. 

The  important  town  of  early  Egyptian  times  was 
located  on  the  large  island  out  there,  at  its  further  end. 
These  buildings  at  this  end  are  a hotel  and  a British 
Army  hospital,  but  behind  the  masses  of  trees  at  the 
other  end  lie  low  ruins,  heaps  which  have  grown  from 
fallen  brick  houses,  such  as  we  have  seen  so  often 
before.  The  town,  like  the  island,  was  called  “Ele- 
phant town”  by  the  early  Egyptians  themselves,  and 


Position  84.  Maps  3,  17. 


310  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  Greeks  did  likewise,  merely  translating  it  as  “Ele- 
phantine.” Far  back  in  the  days  of  the  pyramid  build- 
ers it  formed  the  southern  frontier  town  of  the  king- 
dom, through  which  passed  the  trade  of  Nubia  in 
ebony,  ivory  (explaining  the  name  of  the  place),  gold 
and  ostrich  feathers.  The  nobles  who  lived  here  were 
employed  by  the  Pharaoh  in  trading  expeditions  in 
the  remote  south,  perhaps  as  far  as  Sudan.  They 
were  the  frontiersmen  of  that  ancient  day,  and  many 
are  the  adventures  which  they  passed  through.  Fam- 
ily letters  of  these  remote  borderers  have  been  found 
in  the  ruins  of  their  houses  on  the  island.  They 
are  now  preserved,  written  on  papyrus,  in  the  Berlin 
museum,  and  in  them  one  may  read  the  same  names 
which  we  shall  find  in  the  rock  tombs  beneath  us.  For 
we  are  now  perched  on  the  cliffs,  in  which  these 
nobles  excavated  their  tombs,  and  in  these  tombs  they 
have  recorded  some  of  their  more  notable  achieve- 
ments in  war  and  travel. 

We  shall  go  down  now  to  look  at  one  of  these 
tombs  in  the  cliffs  beneath  us.  See  the  lines  numbered 
85  in  the  upper  portion  of  Map  17. 

Position  85.  Tomb  of  Harkhuf,  a frontier  baron 
in  the  days  of  the  pyramid  builders,  Assuan 

We  have  seen  the  island  where  these  adventurous 
noblemen  lived  their  strenuous  lives ; we  have  now 
before  us  the  tomb,  in  which  one  of  the  most  noted  of 
them  was  buried.  Above  is  the  crest  of  the  cliff, 
where  we  have  just  been  standing;  we  look  westward, 
and  the  river,  with  Assuan  and  the  islands,  is  behind 
us  (Map  17).  This  door  gives  access  to  a chapel 
chamber  such  as  we  have  so  often  seen  before, 


Positions  84,  85.  Maps  3,  17. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


311 


and  after  tarrying  so  long  with  the  Empire  and 
later  times,  it  ushers  us  again  into  the  age  of 
the  pyramid  builders  of  the  Old  Kingdom.  The 
man  who  built  it,  a nobleman  named  Harkhuf,  lived 
under  the  kings  of  the  6th  Dynasty,  the  last  fam- 
ily of  the  Old  Kingdom.  The  place  where  we  now 
are  was  then  a region  liable  to  frequent  invasion 
from  the  turbulent  Nubian  tribes,  and  it  was  the  busi- 
ness of  such  noblemen  to  maintain  the  frontier  and 
superintend  the  traffic  of  the  Pharaoh  with  the  regions 
of  the  south. 

Directly  before  us  on  the  front  wall  of  this  tomb 
Harkhuf  has  left  a remarkable  record  of  his  life,  tell- 
ing us  the  adventures  incident  to  his  active  career,  as  he 
served  the  Pharaohs  of  4,500  years  ago.  He  narrates 
his  great  trading  expeditions,  which  he  personally 
conducted,  as  the  earliest  African  explorer  of  whom 
we  know  anything.  At  one  time  he  pushed  southward 
and  westward  into  a distant  region  which  he  was  seven 
months  in  reaching,  and  which  may  well  have  been 
the  Sudan.  He  discovered  one  of  the  pygmies, 
which  have  so  astonished  modern  explorers  of  Africa, 
and  brought  the  tiny  midget  back  to  Egypt  with 
him.  This  so  delighted  the  king,  that  he  wrote 
Harkhuf  a special  letter,  expressing  his  gratification 
and  warning  the  noble  to  see  that  no  harm  came  to  the 
dwarf  on  the  journey  down  the  river  to  the  court  at 
Memphis.  It  seems  that  this  curious  little  race  was 
known  to  these  early  Pharaohs,  and  that  they  loved 
to  keep  them  at  court  as  dancers.  So  King  Pepi  II 
wrote  Harkhuf  thus : “When  he  goes  down  with  thee 
into  the  vessel,  appoint  trustworthy  people,  who  shall 
be  in  charge  of  him  on  each  side  of  the  vessel.  Take 
care  lest  he  fall  into  the  water.  When  he  sleeps  at 


Position  85.  Maps  3,  17. 


312  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

night  appoint  trustworthy  people,  who  shall  sleep  be- 
side him  in  his  tent.  Make  an  inspection  ten  times  at 
night.  My  majesty  desires  to  see  this  dwarf  more 
than  the  gifts  of  the  land  of  Bite  and  Punt.  If  thou 
arrivest  at  court,  having  the  dwarf  with  thee  alive, 
prosperous  and  healthy,  my  majesty  will  do  for  thee 
a greater  thing,  than  that  which  was  done  for  the  as- 
sistant treasurer  Burded  in  the  time  of  King  Isesi.” 
The  king  has  already  stated  that  King  Isesi,  one  of 
his  great  ancestors  of  the  5th  Dynasty,  had  possessed 
such  a dwarf.  Thus  we  see  that  the  pygmies  were 
already  known  to  the  older  kings.  Harkhuf  was  so 
proud  of  this  letter,  that  he  had  it  engraved  on  the 
front  of  his  tomb ; and  to  this  fact  we  owe  the  preser- 
vation of  the  oldest  royal  letter  in  the  world.  But  as 
the  space  on  each  side  of  the  door  was  already  occu- 
pied with  his  biography,  he  was  obliged  to  smooth  off 
a place  for  the  letter  on  the  right  side  of  the  tomb 
front.  You  can  see  part  of  that  space  with  one  line 
of  the  letter  on  the  extreme  right. 

A stirring  romance  might  be  made  out  of  the  adven- 
tures of  the  nobles  buried  around  us.  One  of  them 
named  Sebni  tells  how  his  father,  Mekhu,  was  killed  on 
an  expedition  into  Nubia  like  those  of  Harkhuf, 
and  how  he  went  to  rescue  his  father’s  body  for 
embalmment.  He  carried  out  the  hazardous  under- 
taking successfully  and  returned  with  the  body  laden 
on  an  ass,  to  Elephantine,  where  it  was  embalmed  by 
the  king’s  own  embalmers.  Another  tells  how  he  was 
sent  to  the  shore  of  the  Red  Sea  to  secure  and  bring 
back  the  body  of  a noble,  who  had  been  killed  by  the 
Beduin  Arabs,  while  building  a ship  for  the  voyage  to 
Punt.  It  seems  incredible  that  after  4,500  years,  these 


Position  85.  Maps  3,  17. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


313 


same  regions  have  been  made  safe  for  trade  and  ex- 
ploration only  within  the  last  few  years.  You  see,  then, 
what  stirring  tales  fill  these  cracked  and  weathered 
sandstone  walls.  They  are  eloquent  witnesses  of  those 
grand  old  days,  when  the  people  of  this  valley  were  on 
the  rise,  with  a splendid  destiny  before  them,  which 
the  restless  energy  of  just  such  men  of  initiative  as 
these  earlier  frontiersmen,  was  rapidly  bringing  in. 

On  the  southeast  side  of  Elephantine  Island  is  a 
Nilomcter,  a most  interesting  device  for  measuring 
the  inundations.  We  go  there  now  and  shall  be  looking 
north.  See  Map  17. 

Position  86.  The  kilometer,  the  measurer  of  inun- 
dations, Island  of  Elephantine,  First  Cataract 

After  ages  of  use,  this  ancient  instrument  was 
cleaned  out  and  restored  to  service  by  Ismail  Pacha 
in  1870.  It  is  very  important  at  each  stage  of  the 
inundation,  to  know  whether  the  rise  is  equaling  that 
of  good  years,  or  whether  it  is  likely  to  fall  short  and 
cause  famine  and  distress.  As  far  back  as  the  19th 
century  B.  C.  the  kings  of  the  Middle  Kingdom  re- 
corded the  height  of  the  inundation  year  by  year  on 
the  rocks  above  the  second  cataract,  and  those  records 
are  still  there.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  how  old 
this  instrument  on  Elephantine  is,  but  it  is  at  least  over 
2,000  years,  for  Strabo,  the  great  geographer  of  nearly 
2,000  years  ago,  visited  here  and  described  it  ac- 
curately, and  his  description,  quoted  in  all  the  guide 
books,  is  still  good.  He  says : “The  Nilometer  is  well 
built  of  regular  hewn  stones,  on  the  bank  of  the  Nile, 
in  which  is  recorded  the  rise  of  the  stream,  not  only 
the  maximum,  but  also  the  minimum  and  average  rise. 


Po5ltlons  85,  86.  Maps  3,  XT, 


314  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

for  the  water  in  the  well  rises  and  falls  with  the 
stream.  On  the  side  of  the  well  are  marks,  measur- 
ing the  height  sufficient  for  the  irrigation  and 
the  other  water  levels.  These  are  observed  and 

published  for  the  general  information This 

is  of  importance  to  the  peasants,  for  the  manage- 
ment of  the  water,  the  embankments,  the  canals,  etc., 
and  to  the  officials  on  account  of  the  taxes.  For 
the  higher  the  rise  of  the  water,  the  higher  are  the 
taxes.”  Down  at  the  bottom  where  the  boy  stands, 
the  masonry  is  open  to  the  river,  so  that,  as  Strabo 
says,  the  water  in  here  rises  with  the  rise  of  the  stream. 
You  can  see  the  graduated  marks  of  which  he  speaks 
on  the  side  wall,  marking  the  depth  at  any  given  level 
of  the  surface.  The  one  at  the  top,  with  oblique  lines 
of  white  spots  is  modern  Arabic,  and  the  Arabic 
marks  continue  all  the  way  down.  This  instrument  is 
not  arranged  to  measure  the  lowest  levels  of  the  river, 
which  are  of  no  practical  importance,  and  thus  as  you 
will  see  by  a glance  at  the  water  outside,  it  falls  far 
below  the  lowest  scale  of  this  Nilometer.  When  it  is 
at  its  lowest,  the  surface  of  the  river  outside  is  49  feet 
below  this  highest  mark  here,  which  it  reaches  after 
it  has  risen  and  entered  the  Nilometer.  This  is  nearly 
twice  as  much  as  the  difference  between  highest  and 
lowest  level  at  Cairo. 

We  are  here  on  the  east  side  of  the  island,  at  its 
southern  end,  and  you  will  find  the  Nilometer  marked 
on  the  map  (No.  17).  We  look  northward,  the  island  is 
on  our  left,  and  the  channel  which  separates  it  from 
Assuan  is  on  our  right.  Behind  us  is  the  cataract. 
You  have  already  noticed  these  swarthy  inhabitants 
of  the  island.  There  are  two  villages  of  these  people 
here,  and  you  observe,  especially  in  the  face  of  the 


Position  86.  Maps  3,  17. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


315 


child  on  the  extreme  right,  the  African  features  and 
the  darker  hue  of  the  skin.  These  are  not  Egyptians; 
we  are  here  meeting  our  first  Nubians,  not  speaking 
Arabic  like  the  Egyptians,  but  the  ancient  tongue  of 
Nubia,  which  they  have  spoken  unbrokenly  since  the 
days  when  their  forefathers  made  this  frontier  danger- 
ous for  the  nobles  and  officials  of  the  pyramid  builders 
nearly  5,000  years  ago.  Here,  then,  we  make  the 
transition  from  Egypt  proper  to  the  land  of  Nubia, 
and  it  is  of  importance  to  note,  that  whereas  the 
Egyptian  no  longer  speaks  the  language  of  those 
tombs  which  we  have  just  visited,  his  former  adver- 
saries up  to  the  very  town  which  they  once  made  pre- 
carious, still  hold  fast  to  the  ancient  tongue,  which  the 
Pharaoh’s  officers  found  here. 

The  granite  quarries  where  the  Egyptians  found 
stone  suitable  for  their  buildings  lie  near  “us  here  on 
the  east  bank  of  the  river.  We  shall  go  now  a few 
miles  south  of  Assuan,  where  we  can  see  a great  un- 
finished obelisk  just  as  it  was  left  by  the  early  Egyp- 
tians. 

Position  87»  Xinety-two-foot  obelisk  still  lying  in 
the  Assuan  granite  quarry  at  the  First 
Cataract 

Recall  the  huge  obelisks  which  we  have  seen  at 
Heliopolis,  Karnak  and  Luxor,  for  we  are  now  in  the 
quarry  from  which  those  vast  monoliths  came.  This 
prostrate  giant  has  never  known  what  it  is  to  stand, 
for  he  is  still  a part  of  Mother  Earth,  from  which  he 
has  never  been  separated.  If  he  could  be  placed  erect, 
he  would  show  a stature  of  92  feet,  which  would  place 
him  among  the  tallest  obelisks  known.  At  the  large 


Positions  86,  87.  Maps  3,  17. 


316  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

end  this  shaft  is  10^  feet  thick.  All  the  obelisks  that 
we  have  seen  once  lay  here  as  you  see  this  one. 

The  method  of  separation  from  the  rock  of  the  quarry 
is  interesting.  A row  of  holes  was  drilled  along  the 
lower  edge,  where  the  obelisk  joins  the  quarry  rock; 
into  these  holes  wooden  wedges  were  firmly  driven, 
and  water  was  then  poured  into  the  wedges.  The 
capillary  attraction,  or  what  is  ordinarily  called  swell- 
ing of  the  wood,  then  gently  but  irresistibly  forced  off 
the  obelisk  and  cracked  it  from  the  native  rock  be- 
neath. It  was  then  dragged  upon  a huge  sledge  to  the 
neighboring  river,  and  loaded  upon  a barge  prepara- 
tory to  floating  it  down  the  river.  You  remember 
that  the  barge  of  the  architect  Ineni  for  the  76-foot 
obelisk  of  Thutmosis  I was  200  feet  long  and  one- 
third  as  wide.  The  reliefs  of  Queen  Makere  at  Der 
el-Bahri  show  two  of  her  obelisks  being  towed  upon 
a huge  barge,  of  which  the  dimensions  are  not  given, 
but  the  galleys  by  which  the  barge  is  towed  are  30 
in  number  and  have  on  the  average  32  oarsmen  in 
each,  making  some  960  oarsmen  in  all.  As  far  back 
as  the  earliest  dynasties  or  earlier,  the  Egyptians  had 
learned  the  excellence  of  this  Assuan  granite,  which 
fortunately  for  them  crops  out  through  the  sandstone 
here  at  the  first  cataract;  and  (although  at  first  under 
convoy  of  warships  for  protection  against  the  hostile 
Nubians),  they  quarried  it  here  at  the  dawn  of  history. 
A nobleman  of  the  6th  Dynasty  boasts  that  he  was 
able  to  quarry  here  with  only  one  warship,  as  if  such 
a thing  had  never  been  done  before.  We  saw  this 
granite  in  the  monumental  gate  called  the  temple  of 
the  Sphinx,  built  in  the  Old  Kingdom,  and  it  was  com- 
monly employed  for  the  finer  and  more  important 
parts  of  the  pyramids,  like  the  chamber  in  the  great 


Position  87.  Maps  3,  17. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


317 


pyramid  where  we  saw  the  sarcophagus  of  Khufu. 

The  masses  taken  in  one  block  from  this  quarry  seem 
almost  incredible  in  view  of  the  limited  knowledge  of 
mechanics  then  possessed  by  the  architects  of  the  Pha- 
raohs. Recall  the  colossus  of  Ramses  II  which  we 
saw  at  the  Ramesseum  at  Thebes,  which  was  57|  feet 
high  and  weighed  800  tons.  That  statue  is  of  granite ; 
it  was  quarried  here  and  floated  down  the  river  in  the 
same  way.  But  when  we  recollect  the  92-foot  colossus 
of  Tanis,  which  must  have  weighed  some  900  tons, 
which  was  likewise  taken  out  here,  we  shall  realize 
what  a place  of  mechanical  miracles  this  quarry  was. 
For  centuries  it  has  been  silent  and  deserted,  or  has 
served  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  visiting  tourists,  who, 
like  this  one  here,  with  notebook  in  hand,  have  re- 
corded the  marvels  left  by  the  Pharaohs.  North  of  us 
here,  there  is  a colossus  of  Amenophis  III  lying  on 
its  back  unfinished.  The  throne  alone  is  over  12  feet 
high.  A huge  sarcophagus,  also  imfinished  and  evi- 
dently of  Ptolemaic  date  is  near  by.  The  largest  and 
heaviest  of  the  surviving  unfinished  monuments  in  the 
quarry  is  the  obelisk  before  us,  for  it  must  have 
weighed  in  the  vicinity  of  350  tons.  What  would 
not  the  archaeologist  give  if  he  could  see  it  rise  from 
the  rock  to  which  it  is  bound,  creep  down  to  the  river, 
float  aw’ay  on  its  long  voyage,  and  struggle  slowly 
upright  before  the  pylons  of  some  temple  on  the  lower 
river!  To  watch  the  swarm  of  workmen  from  the 
Pharaoh’s  quarries  accomplish  a feat  like  that;  to 
stand  beside  the  vast  monolith  during  every  moment 
of  its  progress,  notebook  in  hand — that  would  be  a 
revelation  which  would  immediately  clear  up  many 
mysteries  and  save  the  archaeologists  volumes  of  dis- 
cussion. 


Position  87.  Maps  3,  17. 


318  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

Over  on  the  island  of  Sehel  there  is  an  inscription  of 
unusual  interest  which  we  must  now  see. 

Position  88.  Remarkable  inscription  of  a seven 
year^  famine,  on  the  Island  of  Sehel,  First 
Cataract 

The  inscription  before  us  is  on  an  island  in  the  very 
middle  of  the  cataract.  The  cataract  is  about  five  miles 
long;  at  its  lower  end  is  Assuan  and  the  Island  of 
Elephantine,  which  we  saw  from  the  opposite  heights, 
while  at  its  upper  end  lies  the  island  of  Philae  (Map 
17).  The  channel  of  the  river  along  the  whole  length  of 
the  cataract  is  filled  with  granite  islands,  which  are 
indeed  the  cause  of  the  cataract.  The  rocks  on  these 
islands  are  covered  with  inscriptions;  they  form  the 
most  ancient  and  the  most  interesting  visitors’  book 
in  the  world.  As  the  power  of  Egypt  waxed,  and  she 
gained  more  and  more  fully  the  control  of  Nubia, 
these  records  increased  in  number.  Now  it  is  the  Pha- 
raoh himself,  who  records  in  terms  of  pride  and  boast- 
fulness the  passage  of  the  cataract  on  his  return  from 
some  successful  campaign  against  the  Nubians ; again 
it  is  some  officer  of  the  king  who  has  come  to  take  out 
stone  from  the  quarries ; now  it  is  a celebration  of  the 
king’s  jubilee,  which  the  prince  in  charge  has  success- 
fully managed;  and  again  it  is  the  clearance  of  the 
canal  through  the  cataract,  which  existed  here  probably 
as  far  back  as  the  Old  Kingdom ; or  if  the  faithful 
official  has  no  great  achievement  to  record,  as  he 
passes  he  has  carved  a relief  showing  himself  doing 
obeisance  to  the  king.  Thus  century  after  century 
and  dynasty  after  dynasty  from  2700  B.  C.  onward 
through  Roman  times,  kings  and  nobles,  scribes  and 
officers  on  various  missions  to  or  from  Nubia,  have 
here  left  their  records  on  these  rocks.  Indeed,  much 


Position  88.  Maps  3,  17. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  31i) 

of  the  history  of  Egyptian  conquest  and  government 
in  Nubia  may  be  read  on  these  rocks. 

The  inscription  before  us  is  important  in  itself,  but 
especially  interests  students  of  the  Old  Testament  be- 
cause of  its  reference  to  a seven  years’  famine  in  Egypt. 
The  document  purports  to  be  an  official  communication 
from  King  Zoser  of  the  3rd  Dynasty,  whose  terraced 
pyramid  we  saw  at  Sakkarah,  addressed  to  a prince  of 
Elephantine,  telling  the  latter  of  the  king’s  great  anx- 
iety because  the  Nile  had  not  risen,  and  there  had  been 
no  inundation  for  seven  years.  Unable  to  account  for 
this,  the  king  had  summoned  to  his  presence  one  of  his 
great  wise  men,  Imhotep  by  name,  and  had  questioned 
him  regarding  the  gods  of  the  Nile,  who  controlled  its 
sources  and  the  inundation.  The  wise  man  consulted 
his  books  and  returned  to  the  king  with  a report  that 
the  god  Khnum  was  the  controlling  diyinity  at  the 
cataract  whence  the  inundation,  according  to  Egyptian 
belief,  came.  He  described  to  the  king  the  wealth  of 
the  cataract  region  in  minerals  and  building  stone,  and 
told  him  that  all  this  belonged  to  Khnum.  The  king, 
overjoyed,  ordered  a sacrifice  to  be  offered  to  the  cat- 
aract god,  and  that  night,  in  a dream,  Khnum  appeared 
to  him  and  promised  to  cause  the  regular  and  unfail- 
ing rise  of  the  Nile  thereafter.  In  gratitude,  the  king 
then  sent  the  communication  containing  this  nar- 
rative to  the  prince  of  Elephantine,  with  the  decree, 
that  the  two  shores  of  the  river  from  Elephan- 
tine to  a point  some  sixty  miles  above  it  should  belong 
to  Khnum.  In  late  times,  imder  the  reign  of  the 
Ptolemies,  the  priests  of  Khnum  in  this  region  found 
it  wise  to  brush  up  the  claims  of  their  god  in  this  dis- 
trict, and  they  therefore  revived  the  ancient  title  to  it 
given  their  ancestors  3,000  years  earlier  by  King 


Position  88.  Maps  3,  17. 


320 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


Zoser.  Hence  this  remarkable  inscription  before  us 
is  not  the  original  document  of  King  Zoser,  but  a 
revival  of  it  by  the  priests  of  the  god  on  this  island 
some  3,000  years  later  than  Zoser.  The  seven  years’ 
failure  of  the  Nile,  of  which  it  tells,  occurred,  accord- 
ing to  the  document,  probably  some  1,200  or  1,300 
years  before  the  time  of  Joseph,  but  it  is  interesting 
to  find  that  such  an  occurrence  was  not  an  impossibil- 
ity in  time  long  before  the  Hebrews  ever  saw  Egypt. 
In  later  time,  also,  the  same  thing  has  occurred,  for 
there  was  a famine  of  seven  years’  duration  which 
begun  in  1066  A.  D.  under  the  Fatimids.  In  the  rec- 
tangle above  the  inscription  is  a rough  relief  showing 
the  old  King  Zoser  standing  at  the  left,  and  offering 
to  the  three  divinities  of  the  cataract,  Khnum,  Satet 
and  Anuket,  who  may  be  recognized  by  the  long 
sceptres  in  their  hands.  The  inscription  has  been  here 
over  2,000  years,  and  you  observe  how  the  top  of  the 
granite  boulder  has  cracked  and  lifted  clear  across  the 
lines  of  the  text;  but  nothing  is  lost  except  where  a 
few  pieces  have  chipped  off  at  the  edge  of  the  crack. 
The  number  “21”  has  been  appended  by  savants  for 
convenience  of  reference. 

We  are  now  to  have  the  privilege  of  visiting  prob- 
ably the  most  beautiful  place  in  Egypt,  the  island 
of  Philae.  It  is  a small  island  which  you  will  find  in 
the  lower  portion  of  Map  17,  set  in  a decided  eastern 
bend  of  the  Nile.  We  are  to  stand,  as  the  lines  marked 
89  show,  on  the  shore  just  north  of  it,  and  look  directly 
south.  This  position  is  also  given  on  Map  18,  which 
gives  the  island  on  a larger  scale. 


Position  88.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


321 


Position  S9.  The  templed  island  of  PhiUe,  the 
Pearl  of  Egypt/*  now  doomed  to  destruction 
(view  south) 

Words  add  little  if  anything  to  the  impression  left 
by  this  lovely  spot.  Set  like  a peerless  gem  among 
the  wild,  desolate  rocks  of  the  cataract,  still  softened 
and  enriched  by  the  swaying  palms,  in  which  every 
Egyptian  temple  should  be  framed,  this  temple  and 
its  island  have  preserved  and  still  awaken  more  of  the 
romance  of  the  Nile  than  any  other  spot  in  Egypt. 
And  yet  as  we  shall  see  it  is  condemned  to  certain 
destruction.  We  are  facing  exactly  south,  remember, 
and  our  position  is  at  the  southern,  that  is,  the  upper 
end  of  the  cataract  (Map  17).  Behind  us  are  Assuan, 
Elephantine  and  the  tombs  of  the  frontier  nobles;  be- 
tween them  and  us  lies  the  whole  cataract.  A glance 
at  the  map  will  show  you  that  Philse  is  one  of  the 
uppermost  group  of  islands  that  form  the  cataract. 
The  rocks  which  rise  here  on  the  right  are  part  of  the 
larger  island  of  Bigeh,  while  the  opposite  shores  are 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  which  curves  sharply  on 
our  left  around  the  island  and  appears  behind  it. 
That  little  square  stone  building  on  the  right,  is  the 
house  of  the  custodian  of  the  island.  Just  in  the  mid- 
dle of  our  prospect  you  observe  the  pylons  of  the 
temple  of  Isis ; they  face  the  other  way,  that  is,  toward 
the  south,  and  the  rear  of  the  temple  is  at  this  end 
(Plan  18).  The  first  of  the  two  pylons  is  the  larger, 
and  it  forms,  from  our  point  of  view,  the  background 
of  the  second  pylon,  which  being  of  the  same  form 
and  color  as  the  first,  does  not  stand  out  very  clearly 
against  it.  But  if  you  look  carefully  you  will  be  able 
to  distinguish  it,  especially  if  you  begin  with  the  right- 
hand  tower,  which  covers  a large  portion  of  the  right 


Position  89.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


322  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

tower  of  the  further,  or  first,  pylon.  Before  these 
pylons,  as  we  stand,  but,  of  course,  in  reality  behind 
them,  you  will  discern  the  two  rectangular  masses 
which,  extending  this  way,  contain  the  halls  and  cham- 
bers. The  little  building  on  the  left  of  the  temple  is 
the  lovely  columned  kiosk,  which  is  so  fondly  remem- 
bered by  all  Nile  travelers.  We  shall  see  more  of  it 
from  our  next  point  of  view.  On  the  left  shore  you 
notice  a piece  of  squared  masonry,  which  formed  part 
of  an  ancient  quay  of  the  town,  once  occupying  the 
island.  All  this  work,  and  all  these  buildings  are 
late,  compared  with  most  of  the  temples  which  we  have 
already  seen  on  our  voyage  up  the  river.  There  must 
have  been  a shrine  of  Isis  on  this  island  long  before 
the  present  temple  was  built,  but  it  could  not  have  been 
a notable  building,  for  Herodotus,  in  his  visit  to 
Egypt  in  the  middle  of  the  5th  century  B.  C.,  did  not 
see  anything  here  which  he  considered  worthy  of  note. 
At  any  rate,  he  is  silent  concerning  the  island,  now 
so  famous,  and  the  earliest  mention  of  the  place  in 
the  Egyptian  inscriptions  is  about  the  middle  of  the 
4th  century  B.  C.,  a hundred  years  after  Herodotus’s 
visit.  No  portion  of  the  buildings  at  present  preserved 
is  older  than  350  B.  C,  just  before  Egypt  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Alexander  the  Great. 

Look  long  and  well  at  this  island  and  its  temple, 
for  it  conveys  a more  adequate  impression  of  how  an 
Egyptian  temple  actually  appeared  in  the  days  of  the 
Pharaohs  than  any  surviving  building  on  the  Nile. 
But  the  shouting  native  in  the  boat  below,  vociferously 
offering  his  craft  for  our  passage  over  to  Bigeh,  in- 
terrupts our  reveries.  Those  high  rocks  on  the  ex- 
treme right  offer  a fine  view  of  Philae,  and  taking  this 


Position  89.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  323 

boat,  after  long  haggling  over  the  price,  we  shall  pres- 
ently stand  there  and  overlook  the  island. 

We  shall  then  look  across  the  island  toward  our  left, 
or  toward  the  northeast,  as  the  lines  marked  90  on 
Maps  17  and  18  show. 

Position  90.  Looking  down  (northeast)  upon  the 
island  of  Philce  and  its  temples  from  the 
island  of  Bigeh 

Perched  high  on  the  granite  rocks  of  Bigeh  we 
overlook  Philse  and  the  point  behind  it  from  which  we 
viewed  it  before,  out  there  in  that  group  of  palms 
beyond  the  island,  flanked  by  the  modern  buildings  on 
the  further  shore.  You  now  obtain  some  general  idea 
of  the  extent  of  the  island.  It  is  1,500  feet  long  and 
nearly  500  feet  wide,  the  longest  dimension  being  about 
in  a north  and  south  line.  We  are  now  on  t''e  southwest 
around  it,  rises  into  a desolate  plain,  flanked  by  the 
buildings.  The  eastern  shore  of  the  river  curving 
of  the  island  and  are  looking  northeastward  across  its 
granite  hills,  through  which  the  Nile  has  had  to  force  its 
way.  It  is  this  setting  of  wild  nature  which  so  enhances 
the  effect  of  the  architecture  on  the  island.  Over  on  the 
right  is  the  square  kiosk,  which  the  natives  call  “Pha- 
raoh’s Bed*.’’  It  has  no  roof,  and  it  never  was  finished, 
but  it  is  one  of  the  gems  of  the  place,  even  though  it 
dates  from  the  Roman  age.  The  columns  rise  out  of  a 
surrounding  balustrade  or  screen  wall;  all  the  forms 
are  of  the  simplest,  yet  they  make  up  a slender  and 
graceful  composition  which  most  travelers  remember 
with  more  pleasure  than  anything  else  on  the  island. 
The  building  with  the  large  pylon  is  the  Isis  temple. 
It  is  the  result  of  slow  growth,  having  begun  with  the 


Positions  89,  90.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


324  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

modest  chambers  in  the  rear  under  Nektanebos,  about 
350  B.  C.  He  also  built  this  little  vestibule,  several 
columns  of  which  you  see  by  the  obelisk  at  the  hither 
end  of  the  long  colonnade ; but  it  was  carried  away  by 
a high  Nile  and  had  to  be  restored  by  the  Ptolemies. 

In  these  buildings,  then,  we  can  trace,  better  than 
anywhere  else,  the  transition  from  the  old  days  under 
oriental  Pharaohs,  to  the  domination  of  the  Greek 
dynasty  of  the  Ptolemies.  That  little  obelisk  is  one 
of  a pair ; the  other  has  been  carried  to  England,  but 
its  base  you  can  still  see  from  here  some  25  feet  to  the 
right  of  the  standing  obelisk.  They  were  erected  in 
the  time  of  Ptolemy  IX,  called  Physcon  (died  117 
B.  C.),  and  they  are  of  especial  interest  because  the 
one  now  in  England  was  the  monument  which  en- 
abled Champollion  to  take  the  first  steps  in  his  de- 
cipherment of  the  hieroglyphic,  before  he  employed 
the  Rosetta  stone.  A Greek  inscription  on  the  base 
appeals  to  Physcon  and  his  queen,  Cleopatra,  that  the 
priests  of  this  temple  may  not  be  obliged  to  enter- 
tain the  numerous  state  officials  who  imposed  them- 
selves upon  the  hospitality  of  the  priesthood. 

The  fine  colonnades  leading  up  to  the  temple  are  of 
Roman  date,  and  you  can  read  in  the  reliefs  the  oft- 
repeated  name  of  Augustus,  or  of  Tiberius,  under 
whom  Christ  was  crucified.  The  nearer  of  the  two 
colonnades  is  concealed  from  us  by  the  back  wall,  built 
up  over  the  river.  It  is  300  feet  long  and  has  a row 
of  thirty-one  columns  16  feet  high ; the  eastern  colon- 
nade, the  further  of  the  two,  is  unfinished  and  has  but 
sixteen  columns.  Landing  here  at  the  southern  end 
of  the  court  so  enclosed,  the  pilgrims  entered  between 
the  two  obelisks,  and  many  an  imposing  procession  in 


Position  90.  Maps  3,  17,  IS. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


325 


honor  of  the  great  goddess  must  have  moved  up  be- 
tween these  colonnades.  The  door  in  the  middle  of 
the  first  pylon  enters  a court  behind  it,  while  the  one 
in  the  left-hand  tower  is  the  entrance  to  a “birth 
house”  like  that  of  which  we  spoke  at  Denderah  (Po- 
sition 46).  Between  the  towers  of  the  first  pylon  you 
can  discern  one  of  those  of  the  second,  with  its  open- 
ing above  the  channel  for  the  flagstaves,  like  those 
in  the  first  pylon.  Behind  that  second  pylon  lie  the 
hypostyle,  the  Holy  of  Holies  and  the  surrounding 
chambers.  The  space  unoccupied  by  the  temples  and 
their  enclosures  was  taken  up  by  the  town,  which 
was  excavated  in  1895-6,  some  of  its  streets  may 
still  be  followed  by  the  casual  visitor,  and  the 
excavators  were  still  able  to  plot  the  ancient  town  (see 
Plan  18).  You  see  the  rubbish  from  these  excava- 
tions dumped  into  the  river  through  the  windows  in 
the  wall  opposite  us. 

In  the  town  were  chapels  of  minor  gods,  but  Isis 
was  the  great  divinity  of  the  place.  The  fame  of  her 
power  had  spread  far  and  wide,  and  in  classic  times 
she  was  worshij>ed  from  the  Danube  and  the  Seine  to 
the  upper  cataract  of  the  Nile.  Roman  ladies  jour- 
neyed to  this  shrine  to  carry  home  the  sacred  waters 
that  bathed  the  island.  So  powerful  was  the  priest- 
hood of  this  temple  that  the  edict  of  Theodosius  in 
378,  forbidding  the  continuance  of  all  pagan  worship 
in  the  Egyptian  temples  could  not  be  enforced  here, 
and  it  was  not  until  the  reign  of  Justinian  (527-565) 
that  the  people  of  the  locality  ceased  to  worship  the 
great  goddess.  Her  worship  may  have  continued  sur- 
reptitiously even  after  this,  but  the  temple,  or  at  least 
portions  of  it,  was  used  as  a Christian  church  for  a 
long  time  after  Justinian’s  reign. 


Position  90.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


326  EGYPX  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

This  island  of  Bigeh,  where  we  are  now,  was  also 
inhabited  in  the  Pharaonic  days,  and  the  fragmentary 
ruins  of  a small  temple  of  Hathor  are  just  outside  of 
our  present  prospect  on  the  left. 

There  is  a beautiful  view  from  the  top  of  the  right- 
hand  tower  of  the  first  pylon,  from  which  point  we 
may  see  something  of  the  cataract  and  the  modern 
danger  which  threatens  Philae.  There,  then,  we  shall 
presently  stand.  This  position  is  given  by  the  lines 
numbered  91  on  Maps  17  and  18. 

Position  91,  The  great  Assuan  dam  (northwest) 
from  the  first  pylon  of  the  Philce  Temple 

That  long,  low  wall  out  there  means  bread  for  the 
peasant,  but  destruction  to  this  beautiful  monument 
of  his  ancestors.  Millions  of  cubic  yards  of  the  great 
life-giving  river  run  to  waste  in  the  sea,  without  hav- 
ing benefited  the  land  at  all,  beyond  having  rendered 
the  service  of  cooling  the  hot  air  of  the  valley  as  it 
passed  through.  It  is  imperative  to  stop  this  annual 
waste  of  water  in  a practically  rainless  land ; hence  the 
barrage  below  Cairo,  the  dam,  which  we  mentioned  at 
Assiut,  and  this  great  barrier  which  you  see  yonder, 
the  greatest  dam  that  ever  was  built.  The  founda- 
tion stone  of  the  vast  structure,  which  is  a mile  and  a 
quarter  long,  100  feet  high  at  the  deepest  part  and  88 
feet  thick  at  the  bottom,  was  laid  on  February  2nd, 
1899,  and  it  was  completed  in  the  autumn  of  1902, 
a year  ahead  of  contract  time.  It  is  entirely  of  granite, 
and  is  controlled  by  a set  of  sluices,  180  in  number. 
The  water  can  be  raised  65  feet  behind  it,  and  there 
is  thus  collected  all  around  us  here  a lake  containing, 
roughly,  as  much  as  Geneva  Lake  in  Switzerland. 


Po5itlons  90,  91.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


327 


This  is  then  discharged  gradually  after  the  inundation 
has  subsided  in  Lower  Egypt,  and  it  is  estimated  that 
not  less  than  $13,000,000  will  be  added  annually  to  the 
wealth  of  Egypt  by  the  recovery  of  otherwise  waste 
lands  made  possible  by  thus  husbanding  the  water. 
But  meantime  what  will  become  of  this  beautiful 
island?  Only  the  tops  of  these  buildings  will  project 
from  the  water,  for  its  surface  will  rise  to  the  top  of 
that  heap  of  earth  on  the  left  where  the  two  men 
stand.  When  the  addition  to  the  dam,  a contemplated 
increase  in  the  height,  is  completed,  the  temples  will 
be  largely  submerged.  It  is,  therefore,  only  a matter 
of  a comparatively  short  time,  when  this  lovely  spot 
will  have  become  a mud-covered,  desolate  waste,  with 
the  ruins  of  its  once  picturesque  temples,  rising  in 
shapeless  heaps,  and  eventually  disappearing.  When 
this  project  was  first  suggested,  it  roused  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  whole  cultured  world,  and  in  the  face  of 
universal  protests  the  government  constrained  the  en- 
gineers to  alter  their  plans  so  as  not  to  totally  sub- 
merge the  temples.  But  the  changes  were  not  suffi- 
cient to  save  the  buildings,  as  the  engineers  probably 
very  well  knew,  but  they  pacified  the  public ; and  when 
we  shall  have  grown  accustomed  to  the  pending  de- 
struction, the  dam  will  be  raised  and  the  work  of  an- 
nihilation will  be  complete.  Undoubtedly  the  work 
is  a necessity,  but  it  will  not  be  a pleasant  item  for  the 
future  Englishman  to  read  in  his  guide-book,  that  the 
great  dam  at  this  point,  while  insuring  the  payment 
of  all  interest  on  Egyptian  bonds,  resulted  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  temples  on  Philae. 

You  will  notice  on  the  Map  17  and  Plan  18 
that  as  we  now  stand  on  the  left,  or  western,  tower 


Position  91.  Maps  3,  17,  18. 


328  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

of  the  first  pylon  of  the  Isis  temple,  we  look  north- 
westward down  the  channel  of  the  cataract,  or  better, 
down  on  the  several  channels  into  which  it  is  divided 
at  this  point.  The  rocks  on  our  right  are  the  east 
shore;  on  the  left  is  the  northern  part  of  Bigeh,  and 
in  the  channel  before  us,  on  a line  with  the  long  row 
of  sluices  in  the  huge  dam,  is  the  small  island  of 
Shellal.  You  see  that  the  cataract  does  not  at  all  re- 
semble what  we  usually  understand  by  that  term, 
but  is  merely  a rapid  or  series  of  rapids,  caused  by  the 
outcropping  of  the  granite  at  this  point.  The  channel 
is  thus  filled  with  granite  islands  for  five  miles  to  As- 
suan below  us.  It  was  on  one  of  these  islands,  Sehel, 
that  we  saw  the  inscription  of  the  seven  years’  famine. 
Down  at  the  right  we  have  one  corner  of  the  temple 
court,  the  left  tower  of  the  second  pylon  being  further 
to  our  right,  while  the  lower  building  at  our  feet  is 
the  “birth  house.”  The  low  masonry  building  beyond 
the  “birth  house”  is  a gate  built  by  the  Emperor 
Hadrian.  Forming  our  horizon  beyond  the  dam  rise 
the  western  cliffs,  while  behind  us  is  the  upper  river, 
a long  stretch  of  217  miles  to  the  second  cataract. 

We  shall  stop  at  but  three  points  between  the  two 
cataracts,  but  these  are  such  as  will  give  us  a very 
fair  impression  of  the  country  of  lower  Nubia.  The 
first  stop  will  be  at  Kalabsheh,  which  you  will  find 
on  Map  3 a short  distance  south  of  Philae.  The  red 
lines  there  show  that  we  are  to  be  looking  eastward. 

Position  92.  The  Nubian  temple  of  Kalabsheh, 
built  in  the  days  of  the  Roman  Emperor 
Augustus  (view  east) 

We  have  now  left  the  cataract  thirty-one  miles  be- 
low us,  and,  as  you  know,  we  stand  on  the  west  side 


Positions  91,  9Z.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


329 


of  the  river  looking  nearly  eastward  across  the  tem- 
ple of  the  ancient  town  of  Talmis,  now  called  Kalab- 
sheh  (Map  3).  This  is  Nubia,  and  the  people  about 
us  speak  the  Nubian  tongue.  As  Egyptian  civilization 
gradually  spread  in  the  country  the  Pharaohs  built 
temples  here  after  the  Egyptian  style,  and  it  is  in- 
credible how  a country  of  such  scanty  resources  in 
agriculture  could  have  supported  so  many  enterprises 
of  this  sort.  For  such  temples  are  numerous  here, 
and  although  not  so  imposing  as  those  we  have  seen 
in  Egypt,  they  are  nevertheless  an  impressive  evi- 
dence of  Egyptian  domination  in  the  Nubian  country. 
The  sanctuary  before  us  was  built  in  the  days  of  the 
Roman  Emperor  Augustus,  and  is  not  of  great  his- 
torical interest;  but  there  was  a temple  erected  here 
by  Amenophis  II  of  the  18th  Dynasty  in  the  15th  cen- 
tury B.  C.,  which  this  later  temple  has  replaced.  It 
fronts  the  river,  as  you  observe,  and  we  view  it  from 
the  rear  on  the  high  ground  of  the  sandstone  bluffs. 
It  stands  in  a double  enclosure,  the  inner  wall  of  which 
joins  the  first  pylon,  forming  a court  behind  the  pylon. 
The  front  part  of  the  building  thus  enclosed  is  wider 
and  higher  than  the  rear;  and  in  the  larger  (from 
here  the  further)  section,  is  the  hypostyle  hall,  of 
which  you  see  the  roof  has  now  fallen  in.  In  this  end 
of  the  smaller  section  is  the  Holy  of  Holies.  In  a cham- 
ber on  the  right  of  this  portion  of  the  building  you 
observe  the  upper  steps  of  a stairway  leading  to  the 
roof,  while  at  its  other  end  in  perfect  preservation 
and  very  prominent  from  here  is  a double  stairway 
leading  from  the  lower  roof  of  the  chambers  in  the 
rear,  to  the  higher  roof  of  the  hypostyle  hall  before 
them. 


Position  92.  Map  3. 


330  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

The  reliefs  and  decorations  of  this  late  temple 
were  never  finished,  and  its  inscriptions  are  of  slight 
historical  importance,  but  it  is  the  most  picturesque 
temple  in  Nubia,  with  the  exception  of  Abu  Simbel, 
which  we  shall  later  visit.  With  the  rough  brick  huts 
of  the  Nubian  village  grouped  closely  about  it,  the 
background  of  palms  fringing  the  gleaming  river,  an 
idle  sail  flapping  lazily  in  the  light  breeze,  and  the 
sandstone  bluffs  behind  all,  it  makes  a scene  pregnant 
with  those  melancholy  but  delightful  reveries,  which 
only  such  a ruin  in  the  far  East  can  beget. 

A hundred  miles  above  here  are  the  ruins  of  Kasr 
Ibrim,  an  ancient  fortress  which  has  played  no  small 
part  in  the  history  of  Nubia.  Thither  we  now  go,  and 
its  elevated  position  will  give  us  an  excellent  idea 
of  this  region.  Red  lines  numbered  93  on  Map  3 show 
that  we  shall  be  looking  north. 

Position  93.  Kasr  Ibrim  (the  Fort  of  Ibrim)  and 
a Nile  vista  to  the  north-northeast  in  Koxver 
Nubia 

There  is  the  reach  of  river  up  which  we  have  come. 
We  are  stationed  on  a lofty  fortified  rock  on  the  east 
bank  known  as  the  Kasr  Ibrim,  and  we  look  down  river, 
which  flows  at  this  point  about  northeastward.  We 
have  now  covered  nearly  two-thirds  of  our  journey  to 
the  second  cataract,  the  first  being  behind  that  north- 
ern horizon  some  135  miles  away.  From  this  fine 
elevation  we  obtain  an  excellent  and  correct  impres- 
sion of  the  land  of  Nubia.  The  river  winds  through 
the  sandstone  table-land,  with  the  merest  narrow  fringe 
of  vegetation  demarking  it  from  the  desert  behind 
on  either  hand,  and  that  scanty  margin  of  cultivable 


Positions  92,  93.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  through  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


331 


land  is  Nubia,  so  far  as  habitable  territory  is  con- 
cerned. Wild  and  hostile  tribes  have,  to  be  sure,  in- 
habited the  desert  on  either  side,  particularly  the  east 
side,  from  time  immemorial,  but  the  settled  towns  have 
depended  solely  upon  these  narrow  shores  for  their 
sustenance.  Way  back  in  the  days  of  Abraham,  in 
the  12th  Dynasty,  nearly  2000  years  before  Christ,  the 
Pharaohs  made  conquest  of  this  territory  between  the 
two  cataracts,  which  we  are  now  traversing,  thus  adding 
over  200  miles  of  Nile  valley  to  their  kingdom.  With 
the  rise  of  the  18th  Dynasty,  about  1580  B.  C.,  the 
conquest  was  gradually  pushed  further  south,  until 
the  fourth  cataract  was  made  the  frontier  (Map  3). 
Thus  the  bulk  of  this  cataract  region,  upon  which  we 
have  entered,  became  a dependency  of  Egypt  under 
an  Egyptian  viceroy,  and  so  remained  for  some  800 
years,  until,  in  the  8th  century  B.  C.,  it  regained  its 
independence,  made  an  ephemeral  conquest  of  Egypt, 
and  after  the  dissipation  of  such  dreams,  maintained 
itself  as  a separate  kingdom  far  down  into  the  Chris- 
tian centuries.  Its  attempts  at  aggression  here  in  lower 
Nubia  were  beaten  back  by  the  Romans,  who,  as  well 
as  the  Ptolemies,  held  their  southern  frontier  at  Hier- 
asykaminos,  some  sixty-five  miles  below  us,  behind 
yonder  horizon  (Map  3).  Now  and  again,  however, 
they  even  reached  this  fortress  in  which  we  stand.  At 
this  place,  therefore,  we  are  crossing  the  extremes! 
limits  of  the  vast  Roman  empire,  the  other  end  of 
which  was  lost  in  the  forests  of  the  northern  British 
isles. 

The  Nubians  did  eventually  thrust  the  Romans  out 
of  this  territory,  however,  and  even  altogether  out  of 
Nubia,  and  having  been  Christianized  from  the  4th  cen- 
tury on,  continued  as  a Christian  power  until  the  con- 


Posltion  93.  Map  3. 


332  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

quest  of  the  Moslems  in  640  A.  D.,  when  Mohamme- 
danism gradually  gained  the  upper  hand.  You  re- 
member the  New  Testament  story  of  the  Ethiopian 
eunuch  and  Queen  Candace.  A whole  series  of  Chris- 
tian queens  of  that  name  are  known  in  this  region 
south  of  us.  In  1173  A.  D.,  Shems  ed-Din,  brother  of 
the  great  Saladin,  the  conqueror  of  the  crusaders,  oc- 
cupied this  fortress,  and  in  1811  the  Mamlukes,  flee- 
ing from  death  at  the  hands  of  Mohammed  Ali  in  the 
very  citadel  of  Cairo,  which  Saladin  first  built,  took 
refuge  in  this  stronghold.  Dilapidated  and  crudely 
built  as  it  seems  to  be,  this  castle  is  an  important  his- 
torical landmark.  The  precipitous  rock  upon  which 
it  stands  early  drew  the  attention  of  the  Egyptians, 
looking  for  points  easily  defended,  and  you  see  the 
traces  of  their  occupation  in  the  stone  masonry  of  a 
temple  at  the  other  end  of  these  ruins.  A Christian 
church  once  met  in  these  chambers,  and  it  was  plun- 
dered by  Shems  ed-Din  in  1173.  Finally  the  last 
transition  took  place,  and  a mosque  of  Islam  occupied 
part  of  these  ruinous  halls.  We  thus  have  before  us 
the  material  remains  of  the  three  successive  religions 
of  Egypt : the  old  native  religfion  of  the  Pharaohs,  with 
its  many  gods ; then  Christianity ; and  finally  Islam.  As 
the  refuge  of  the  Mamlukes  at  the  rise  of  Mohammed 
Ali,  it  is  also  a memorial  of  the  new  Egypt,  which  has 
recovered  Nubia,  save  for  the  interval  of  independ- 
ence won  by  the  Nubian  tribes  under  their  fanatical 
leader,  Mohammed  Ahmed,  who  called  himself  the 
“Mahdi,”  (the  “guided”),  as  it  was  believed  that  he 
was  the  object  of  especial  divine  guidance  and  illu- 
mination. Of  this  fatal  war,  which  cost  England  so 
dearly,  we  shall  see  more  as  we  proceed. 


Position  93.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


333 


We  next  visit  one  of  the  greatest  monuments  of  the 
old  Egypt,  Abu  Simbel.  This  unique  temple  is  but  a 
short  distance  south  from  our  present  standpoint  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Nile.  The  red  lines  numbered  94 
on  Map  3 show  that  we  shall  look  northwest.  This 
position  is  given  also  on  the  detailed  plan  of  this  tem- 
ple, Plan  19. 

Position  94.  The  grotto  temple  of  Abu  Simbel, 
seen  (northwest)  from  a boat  on  the  Nile 

Who  will  ever  forget  the  first  impression  of  these 
colossal  figures  looking  out  like  impassive  gods  upon 
the  river  which  they  dominate ! When  modern  travel- 
ers rediscovered  Abu  Simbel,  the  descriptions  of  its 
glory  which  reached  Europe  were  considered  wild 
exaggerations ; but  the  reports  of  Champollion  in  his 
letters  left  no  room  for  doubt  that  here  was  one  of  the 
marvelous  creations  of  the  Egyptian  architect,  sur- 
passing an)dhing  of  the  kind  elsewhere  known.  We 
have  seen  how  the  cliflFs  in  this  Nubian  country  ap- 
proach often  to  the  very  water’s  edge,  leaving  the 
architect  no  vantage  ground  for  his  temples.  With 
what  triumphant  skill  and  consummate  art  has  he  here 
overcome  this  difficulty,  by  hewing  his  temple  out  of 
the  solid  rock!  Reduced  by  perspective  and  seen 
through  the  rigging  of  this  feluka,  the  temple  does 
not  here  produce  the  impression  of  size,  of  which  it  is 
capable  from  another  point  of  view.  We  are  here  in 
a small  boat  out  upon  the  river  174  miles  above  the 
first  cataract,  and  as  the  temple  faces  exactly  east, 
we  look  north  of  west  against  the  face  of  the  western 
cliffs  (Map  3,  Plan  19).  That  front  is  119  feet  wide 
and  over  100  feet  high.  It  is  crowned  by  a comice  of 
sacred  apes,  and  a niche  in  the  centre  above  the  door 


Positions  93,  94.  Map  3.  Plan  19. 


334  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

contains  a figure  of  the  god  Horus,  with  the  hawk’s 
head.  The  four  gigantic  colossi  which  adorn  the 
fagade  are  each  65  feet  in  height,  that  is,  higher  than 
any  of  the  standing  colossi  which  we  have  seen,  and 
they,  as  well  as  the  whole  front  and  the  interior 
chambers,  were  hewn  from  the  mountain  as  they  stand. 
It  was  wrouli'ht  by  Ramses  II,  the  author  of  the  most 
colossal  works  in  Egypt.  The  statues  all  represent 
himself,  and,  as  we  shall  see,  are  excellent  portraits. 
Beside  them  are  smaller  figures  of  various  mem- 
bers of  his  family.  At  the  extreme  left,  or  south, 
is  his  daughter,  Nebet-towe,  between  the  feet  of  the 
southernmost  colossus  an  unknown  princess,  while 
next  her  to  the  right  is  another  daughter,  named 
Bint-Anath.  The  colossus  at  the  left  of  the  door  has, 
unfortunately,  fallen,  and  the  upper  portions  lie  in 
fragments  at  its  feet.  Beside  this  colossus  also  are 
royal  ladies  of  Ramses’s  family : on  the  left  of  the  feet, 
his  mother,  Tuye,  and  to  the  right  Nofretere,  his  wife. 

These  statues  possess  real  artistic  value  as  portraits, 
as  we  can  see  if  we  climb  up  and  stand  at  the  left 
(south)  end  of  the  temple  front,  and  look  northward 
at  the  two  on  the  north  (right)  of  the  door.  This 
next  standpoint  and  our  field  of  vision  from  it  are  given 
by  the  lines  numbered  95  on  Plan  19. 

Position  95.  The  sixty-five-foot  portrait  statues  of 
Ramses  II,  before  the  rock-hewn  temple  of 
Abu  Simbel 

Our  sole  purpose  in  climbing  up  here  is  to  study 
and  appreciate  these  portrait  statues  of  Ramses  II. 
We  are  now  standing  just  south  of  the  southern- 
most of  the  four  colossi,  and  with  the  river  on  our 
right  and  the  cliffs  on  our  left,  we  look  northward. 


Positions  94,  95.  Map  3.  Plan  19, 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


335 


you  remember,  at  the  two  figures  on  the  north,  of 
the  door.  We  can  see  here  just  before  us  the  fragments 
of  the  upper  portion  of  the  first  statue  on  the  south  of 
the  door,  separated  from  the  other  two  before  us  by 
an  interval  giving  access  to  the  door  itself.  How 
puny  appears  the  figure  of  that  tall  native  compared 
with  the  gigantic  form  of  the  Pharaoh ! He  is  not 
longer  than  the  beard  of  the  nearer  figure.  The  Pha- 
raoh sits  in  the  ceremonious  posture  demanded  of  the 
divine  ruler  of  the  two  Egypts,  with  hands  reposing 
on  his  knees.  He  wears  the  tall  double  crown  sym- 
bolic of  his  double  realm  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt. 
The  crown  rests  upon  a headdress  of  plaited  linen, 
which  hangs  down  behind  the  ears  and  falls  upon  the 
shoulders  to  a point  as  low  as  the  tip  of  the  beard. 
This  beard  is  artificial,  and  was  ceremonial  and  sym- 
bolic. Osiris  had  worn  such  a beard  when  he  ruled 
among  men.  It  was  fastened  on  by  straps  which 
passed  up  behind  the  ears,  and  if  you  look  closely 
you  can  discern  the  strap  following  the  jaw  of  the 
nearer  head  up  to  the  ear.  Over  the  forehead  is  the 
sacred  uraeus  serpent,  the  symbol  of  the  goddess  of 
Lower  Egypt,  who  is  thus  the  Pharaoh’s  constant  com- 
panion and  guardian  divinity.  On  the  breast  under 
the  beard  and  suspended  from  the  king’s  neck  is  a 
ring  bearing  his  name  in  hieroglyphics,  and  here  on 
the  right  we  also  read  the  words : “Beloved  of  Amon, 
Usermare-Setepnere,”  the  latter  part  being  the  pre- 
nomen of  Ramses  H.  From  the  waist  up  the  king’s 
body  is  bare,  but  he  wears  about  the  loins  a short  kilt, 
a royal  garment  of  enormous  antiquity,  which  is,  how- 
ever, so  scanty  that  it  reaches  not  even  to  the  knees. 
You  can  see  its  folds  or  plaits  on  this  nearer  leg  below 
the  forearm.  Below  it  the  legs  are  bare.  You  have 


Position  95.  Map  3.  Pian  19. 


336 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


seen  the  same  costume,  omitting  the  double  crown, 
worn  by  King  Khafre,  in  the  Cairo  Museum  (Posi- 
tion 10).  That  masonry  propping  under  the  right  arm 
is  ancient,  and  was  done  by  one  of  Ramses’s  successors. 

You  notice  that  the  ears  are  set  much  too  high.  This 
was  a device  of  the  sculptor,  frequently  found  in  heads 
which  are  to  occupy  a position  much  higher  than  the 
observer,  and  you  will  find  that  this  false  position  is 
not  so  evident  if  you  look  at  these  two  figures  again 
from  the  river,  as  we  did  at  first  (Position  94). 
Otherwise  the  heads  are  beautifully  wrought,  and  the 
expression  of  the  face  is  one  of  kindness  and  benevo- 
lence, combined  with  that  impressive  calm  and  a subtle 
touch  of  oriental  indolence  mingled  with  imperturba- 
bility, which  in  both  ancient  and  modem  minds  are 
associated  with  royalty  in  the  East.  Can  we  not  easily 
understand  how  the  Nubians  worshijjed  not  merely 
the  great  gods  of  Egypt  besides  their  own,  but  also 
the  living  Pharaoh,  as  we  look  at  these  giant  forms, 
which  for  over  3,000  years  have  directed  the  same 
impassive  gaze  over  the  swift-flowing  river  toward 
the  rising  sun?  It  was  such  works  as  these  that  made 
their  author  for  generations  the  type  of  the  ideal  Pha- 
raoh, so  that  his  successors  prayed  the  gods  to  grant 
them  a reign  like  his. 

But  are  these  colossal  sculptured  figures  really  por- 
traits? If  you  will  recall  the  face  of  this  king’s  father, 
Sethos  I,  as  you  saw  him  in  his  coffin  in  the  Cairo 
Museum  (Position  12)  I think  you  will  never  question 
the  family  resemblance  for  a moment.  Ramses  IPs 
body  is  also  preserved  in  the  same  museum,  and  al- 
though these  statues  represent  the  king  in  his  prime, 
while  the  body  of  the  old  hero  was  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
a hundred  years  old  when  life  left  it,  we  find  here. 


Position  95.  Map  3.  Plan  19. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


337 


after  allowance  for  the  difference  in  age,  the  same 
aquiline  nose  and  the  strong  chin,  which  are  unmistak- 
able features  of  the  great  king.  They  are  found  in 
all  his  statues,  especially  the  most  beautiful  of  all,  a 
magnificent  black  granite  figure  of  him  in  the  museum 
of  Turin.  What  is  here  remarkable  is  the  skill  of  the 
sculptor  in  working  thus  faithfully  upon  features  of 
such  colossal  dimensions.  In  order  to  find  out  whether 
he  was  producing  a faithful  portrait  and  to  gain  an 
idea  of  the  whole  face  as  his  work  progressed,  he  must 
have  gone  out  upon  the  river  at  short  intervals  and 
viewed  these  giant  features  from  a distance.  Think 
of  working  upon  a nose,  which  from  the  tip  to  the 
eyebrows  above  was  as  tall  as  the  sculptor  himself ! 
What  modern  sculptor  possesses  the  hardihood  to  at- 
tempt a faithful  portrait  of  this  size  in  stone? 

Now  we  must  climb  up  those  slippery  sands,  which 
you  see  drifting  down  the  cliff  north  of  the  temple, 
and  from  there  we  shall  look  towards  our  present 
standpoint,  that  is,  southward  across  the  entire  faqade 
of  the  temple.  See  the  lines  numbered  96  on  Plan  19. 

Position  96.  hooking  up  the  river  across  the  fron  t 
of  the  Ahu  Simhel  temple,  from  the  sand  drift 
at  the  north 

No  adequate  impression  of  this  gigantic  temple  can 
be  obtained  from  any  one  point  of  view ; we  must  view 
it  from  several  different  standpoints  in  succession 
before  it  is  possible  to  get  from  it  what  it  is  capable 
of  giving  us ; for  as  we  move  from  point  to  point  its 
beauty  and  its  grandeur  gradually  fill  us  with  a won- 
der and  an  admiration  which  are  not  easily  put  into 
words.  It  is  unique;  no  other  building  conveys  just 


Positions  95,  96.  Map  3.  Plan  19. 


338 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


such  an  impression.  The  grand  old  times  which  pro- 
duced it  are  not  so  familiar  to  us  as  the  history  of 
Rome;  we  are  not  overwhelmed  by  a rush  of  familiar 
memories  here,  as  when  we  stand  beneath  the  shadow 
of  the  Coliseum.  The  age  that  brought  forth  this  noble 
monument  lies  back  of  the  great  drama  of  Europe ; 
it  belongs  to  the  prelude,  without  which  the  subse- 
quent scenes  of  European  history  could  not  have  been 
enacted.  The  chisel  that  wrought  this  colossal  work 
left  an  inheritance  ol  technical  conquest,  which  brought 
to  the  architects  of  Europe  an  unconscious  superiority 
over  mere  material  difficulties,  insuring  fancy  and  im- 
agination, untrammeled  liberty  to  revel  in  beautiful  con- 
ceptions, which  might  then  be  embodied  in  stone  with  a 
fleetness  and  a confident  facility  begotten  and  born  of 
the  very  fingers  that  shaped  these  mighty  statues  before 
us.  Viewed  in  their  proper  light,  such  works  as  these 
should  arouse  in  us  a feeling  of  the  profoundest  grati- 
tude to  the  ancient  people  who  developed  the  arts  in- 
herited by  later  Europe,  and  make  of  Egypt  not 
merely  the  name  of  a vanished  people,  but  the  syn- 
onym for  a debt  which  we  can  never  pay. 

We  stand  here  on  the  sand,  which  sifts  in  continu- 
ally on  the  north  side  from  the  desert  behind  the  cliffs, 
and  threatens  to  engulf  the  temple.  It  has  been  sev- 
eral times  cleared  away,  and  can  be  kept  out  only  by 
the  closest  vigilance.  We  look  southward  across  the 
temple  front  with  the  river  on  our  left  and  the  desert 
on  the  right  (Plan  19).  This  point  shows  us  better 
than  any  other,  the  court  before  the  entrance.  The 
face  of  the  cliff  has  been  excavated  for  some  distance 
in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  depth  for  the  great 
statues.  All  that  great  excavation  of  the  rock, 
a hundred  feet  high,  was  done  for  the  most  part 


Position  96.  Map  3.  Plan  19. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


339 


with  bronze  chisels.  This  court  is  enclosed  by  a 
low  balustrade  running  along  in  front  of  the 
statues  and  parallel  with  the  fagade  of  the  tem- 
ple. From  here  you  can  see  the  other  end  of 
this  balustrade  just  beyond  the  fragments  of  the  fallen 
colossus,  toward  the  outer  edge  of  the  further  side  of 
the  excavation.  It  was  adorned  with  small  statues 
of  the  king,  and  with  figures  of  the  sacred  hawk,  of 
which  you  may  see  one  that  has  been  removed  to  the 
base  of  the  fallen  colossus.  The  legs  of  the  further 
two  colossi  bear  a number  of  Phoenician,  Greek  and 
Carian  inscriptions,  one  of  which,  on  the  legs  of  the 
fallen  colossus,  is  of  great  interest,  being  among  the 
oldest  known  Greek  inscriptions.  It  was  placed  there 
by  soldiers  of  King  Psamtik,  probably  the  second, 
of  the  26th  Dynasty,  early  in  the  6th  century 
B.  C.  Here,  then,  is  a monument  from  the  begin- 
nings of  Greek  influence  in  Egypt,  which  culminated 
in  a series  of  Greek  kings  of  Egypt,  the  Ptolemies, 
whose  monuments  we  have  so  often  seen.  The  north- 
ernmost of  the  four  colossi  is  hidden  behind  the  pro- 
jecting rock  on  our  right,  but  you  can  here  compare 
the  next  one  very  well  with  the  southernmost  at  the 
other  end.  You  see  in  it  again  the  characteristic 
features  of  Ramses  II,  as  we  found  them  in  the  two 
figures  at  this  end.  Above,  the  statues  is  a horizontal 
line  of  large  hieroglyphics,  just  below  the  cornice.  It 
contains  in  duplicate  the  pompous  titulary  of  Ramses 
II,  which  begins  in  the  middle  and  reads  both  ways. 
The  hollow  of  the  cornice  above  has  largely  fallen 
down.  It  bears  a row  of  cartouches,  or  royal  ovals,  con- 
taining the  name  of  the  king  and  enclosed  within  the 
folds  of  the  sacred  uraeus  serpent.  At  the  top  is  the 
line  of  sacred  dog-headed  apes  crowning  the  whole. 


Position  96.  Map  3.  Plan  19. 


340  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

These  animals  were  especially  connected  with  sun- 
worship,  and  hence  we  find  them  here  facing  the  rising 
sun,  with  forepaws  raised  in  adoration. 

Beyond  the  further  projection  of  the  rock  is  dis- 
closed a long  reach  of  the  river,  up  which  we  look 
toward  the  second  cataract,  forty  miles  away.  In  its 
original  bright  colors,  framed  in  the  sombre  gray  and 
brown  of  the  sandstone  cliffs,  with  the  blue  river  be- 
yond, how  striking  the  effect  of  this  temple  front 
must  have  been ! But  we  can  spend  no  more  time  on 
the  exterior ; for  we  have  still  to  view  the  halls  within. 
We  shall  stand  just  within  the  entrance  down  between 
the  statues,  and  look  back  to  the  inner  sanctuary  of 
the  temple  chiseled  into  the  heart  of  the  cliff.  See  the 
lines  numbered  97  on  Plan  19. 

Position  97,  Interior  of  the  rock-hetvn  temple  of 
Abu  Simhel,  showing  the  Holy  of  Holies,  with 
the  statues  of  the  gods  in  the  rear 

As  you  know  from  the  plan  (No.  19),  we  are  stand- 
ing in  the  entrance  door  looking  westward  directly 
down  the  main  axis  of  the  temple.  The  river  and  the 
rising  sun  are  directly  behind  us,  on  the  right  is  the 
whole  length  of  the  valley  up  which  we  have  come, 
and  the  second  cataract  is  forty  miles  away  on  the 
left.  On  our  extreme  right  and  left,  and  almost 
close  enough  to  touch  them,  are  the  door-posts  of  the 
great  entrance  door,  carved  with  the  name  of  Ramses 
II,  as  you  see  most  clearly  on  the  left.  Beyond  the 
door  the  great  vestibule  hall  expands  before  us.  If 
the  building  were  one  of  masonry,  this  would  be  a 
court  surrounded  by  pillars  of  Osiris.  You  will 
recollect  that  such  a court  precedes  the  hypostyle  in  the 
Ramesseum  at  Thebes,  built  by  this  same  king.  But 


Positions  96,  97.  Map  3.  Plan  19. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


341 


a masonry  court  was  here  an  impossibility,  and  the 
architect  has  converted  it  into  a vestibule  hall.  It  is 
54  feet  by  58  feet,  and  the  eight  massive  Osiris-pillars 
which  support  the  roof  are  30  feet  high.  They  rep- 
resent Ramses  II  in  the  form  of  Osiris,  and  you  will 
recognize  the  features  of  the  king  especially  in  the 
next  to  the  last  on  the  right.  Tliey  have  suffered 
sadly  from  the  ravages  of  time,  but  they  still  show 
clearly  the  skilful  execution  of  the  sculptor.  The 
walls  of  this  hall  are  decorated  with  relief  scenes  de- 
picting the  king’s  warlike  achievements,  especially  the 
great  battle  at  Kadesh,  which  we  found  first  at  Luxor 
and  then  at  the  Ramesseum.  The  north  wall  behind 
these  pillars  on  the  right  is  occupied  for  a large  por- 
tion of  its  length  by  the  scenes  from  this  battle.  The 
original  colors  are  still  fresh  and  bright.  In  the  two 
further  corners  are  two  doors  leading  to  eight  cham- 
bers for  the  temple  implements  and  supplies ; of  these 
chambers  three  are  on  the  left,  and  five  on  the  right, 
as  you  will  see  by  reference  to  the  plan  (No.  19). 

Looking  through  the  door  opposite  us  we  see  the  hy- 
postyle  hall,  the  four  pillars  of  which  are  out  of  range, 
two  on  either  side  of  the  door.  It  is  36  feet  wide  by 
25  feet  deep,  and  you  observe  in  the  middle  one  of 
the  hawks,  such  as  we  saw  outside  on  the  base  of  the 
fallen  colossus.  The  door  behind  the  hawk  leads  to  a 
transverse  ante-chamber  (Chamber  III  on  Plan  19) 
of  little  depth,  beyond  which  is  the  door  of  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  Through  that  last  door,  then,  we  look  into  the 
holy  place  itself  and  discern  in  the  dim  light  the  distant 
figures  of  two  of  the  four  gods  who  occupy  it.  These 
are  Amon-Re,  the  state  god  (on  the  left)  and  Ramses 
II  himself  (on  the  right).  The  two  others  seated 
there  are  Ptah  of  Memphis  on  the  left,  and  Re-Har- 


Posltlon  97.  Map  3.  P!an  1 9, 


342 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


machis  of  Heliopolis  on  the  right;  but  they  are  cut 
off  from  our  view  by  the  door-posts  on  either  side. 
Thus  the  gods  of  the  three  great  religious  centres  of 
Eg>-pt : Thebes,  Heliopolis  and  Memphis,  are  here 
sacred  in  this  temple  in  Nubia,  and  with  them  is  asso- 
ciated the  Pharaoh  himself,  the  lord  of  Nubia.  He 
whom  we  have  seen  in  those  colossal  forms  outside 
the  temple  front,  was  therefore  one  of  the  great  gods 
who  were  worshiped  within  it.  In  front  of  these  di- 
vine figures  and  behind  the  hawk  which  partially  con- 
ceals it,  you  discern  a small  altar,  for  the  temple 
service.  You  will  find  its  position  marked  upon  the 
plan  in  the  “Sanctuary.”  The  wall  behind  the  statues 
of  the  gods  is  the  rearmost  wall  of  the  temple.  We 
can  therefore  measure  with  the  eye  the  entire  depth  of 
these  successive  halls ; from  the  threshold  on  which 
we  stand  to  that  distant  rear  wall  it  is  180  feet.  And 
even  this  vast  sanctuary,  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock, 
was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  zeal  of  the  great  builder. 
For  but  a few  hundred  paces  to  the  north  of  us  there 
is  another  temple  to  the  goddess  Hathor,  similarly 
hewn  out  of  the  cliff ; but  it  is  much  smaller  than  this, 
and  is  not  so  skilfully  designed,  so  that  we  shall  not 
take  the  time  to  visit  it,  but  shall  pass  on  to  the  sec- 
ond cataract. 

Find  the  lines  numbered  98  on  Map  3,  a short  dis- 
tance south  of  Abu  Simbel.  There  we  shall  be  look- 
ing northeast. 

Position  98.  Second  Cataract  of  the  lfile,fron\  the 
southwest,  the  first  obstruction  to  navigation 
for  a thousand  miles 

We  have  now  reached  the  termination  of  the  jour- 
ney by  the  river;  from  this  point  which  by  wafer  is 
Positions  97,  98.  Map  3. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


343 


nearly  a thousand  miles  from  Alexandria  and  the  sea, 
we  shall  proceed  by  rail.  Our  point  of  view  is  on 
the  west  beside  an  elevated  rock  known  as  Abusir 
(Map  3).  We  look  northeastward  down  the  rocky 
gorge,  over  the  wild  prospect  of  the  cataract.  It  is 
now  March,  and  the  waters  have  been  falling  for  four 
or  five  months ; but  in  the  time  of  the  inundation,  it 
is  an  impressive  sight  to  see  the  river  rushing  over 
these  stubborn  rocks  which  for  ages  have  resisted 
the  erosion  of  the  stream.  They  are  chiefly  granite, 
with  outcroppings  of  other  similar  rocks,  which  break 
up  the  stream  into  numerous  tortuous  channels,  or, 
when  submerged,  harass  the  waters  into  a wild  and 
fearful  tumult  of  successive  leaps  and  plunges,  churn- 
ing the  flood  for  miles  into  a boiling,  seething  caul- 
dron, flecked  with  yellow  foam,  which  gleams  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  black  rocks  that  form  the  ob- 
struction. 

This  cataract  was  the  frontier  of  the  Middle  King- 
dom, whose  kings  first  made  conquest  of  lower 
Nubia;  although  to  maintain  it  they  built  a series  of 
forts  in  the  valley  or  on  the  islands  in  the  stream 
for  thirty  miles  above  this  point.  These  forts,  built 
in  the  days  of  Abraham,  are  still  standing  in  a fair 
state  of  preservation.  The  tribes  which  they  were 
built  to  keep  in  subjection  4,000  years  ago,  had  not 
in  the  year  of  grace  1883  yet  lost  their  aggressive- 
ness; for  at  that  time,  under  their  skilful  leader,  the 
Mahdi,  they  regained  their  independence  and  eventu- 
ally drove  back  the  British  to  this  cataract.  The 
frontier  post  of  the  English  then  became  Wadi  Haifa, 
a town  almost  in  sight  from  here,  about  five  miles 
down  stream  directly  on  our  present  line  of  sight  on 


Position  98.  Map  3. 


344  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

the  other  side  of  the  river.  That  is,  the  frontier  be- 
came essentially  the  same  as  that  of  the  Pharaohs  in 
the  days  of  Abraham,  so  often  and  so  long  has  civili- 
zation been  thrown  back  from  permanent  conquest  of 
this  valley.  Here  it  remained  until  the  British  in 
1896-7  pushed  a railway  from  Wadi  Haifa  out  into 
the  desert  here  on  our  right,  having  as  their  objective 
the  town  of  Abu  Hammad,  thus  cutting  off  the  enor- 
mous bend  of  the  river,  which  is  behind  us  (see  Map 
3).  Trace  that  bend  on  the  map  to  the  fourth  cata- 
ract and  you  will  have  the  extent  of  Egyptian  dom- 
ination of  Nubia  in  ancient  times.  There  are  some 
scattered  Egyptian  monuments  along  that  great  bend 
from  the  fourth  cataract  down  to  the  point  where  we 
now  stand,  but  they  are  not  to  be  compared  in  magni- 
tude and  splendor  with  those  which  we  have  already 
seen.  Hence  we  shall  leave  the  river  at  Wadi  Haifa, 
just  below  us  here,  and  following  the  railway  through 
the  desert  on  our  right  to  Abu  Hammad,  we  shall  go  on 
to  its  terminus  in  Khartum. 

Omdurman  and  Khartum  you  will  find  at  the  lower 
extremity  of  Map  3.  These  two  cities  are  given  on 
a larger  scale  also  on  Map  20.  On  the  latter  map 
you  will  find  our  next  standpoint  indicated  by  the  lines 
numbered  99.  We  shall  look  northeast. 

Position  99.  The  tomb  of  the  Mahdi  at  Omdurman 
— Kerreri  Hills  at  left,  scene  of  Kitchener's 
victory— Sudan 

This  is  perhaps  the  most  significant  monument 
which  we  could  find  here  at  the  terminus  of  the  long 
576-mile  journey  from  Wadi  Haifa.  If  you  will  look 
at  the  map  (No.  20),  you  will  find  that  Omdurman 


Positions  98,  99.  Msps  3,  20. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


345 


is  on  the  left  bank  of  the  White  Nile,  just  where  the 
Blue  Nile  flows  into  it.  As  we  stand  now  both  rivers 
are  here  on  our  right,  but  quite  out  of  range.  We  face 
northeast,  that  is,  down  stream,  and  Khartum  is 
also  here  on  our  right,  but  out  of  range  on  the  south 
bank  of  the  Blue  Nile  just  above  its  junction  with 
the  White  Nile.  When  Gordon  entered  Khartum  in 
February,  1884,  in  the  endeavor  to  save  the  Sudan 
from  the  Mahdi,  he  rode  to  his  death,  and  the  small 
body  of  troops  sent  for  his  relief,  which  nearly  a year 
later  succeeded  in  forcing  their  way  into  Khartum 
under  General  Sir  Charles  Wilson,  found  that  the  town 
had  fallen  but  two  days  before,  and  that  Gordon  had 
perished.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1896  that,  begin- 
ning the  construction  of  the  railway  through  the 
desert  from  Wadi  Haifa,  the  Egyptians,  under  Brit- 
ish officers  and  with  a nucleus  of  English  regulars, 
advanced  for  the  recovery  of  the  Sudan  and  the  upper 
river.  Enjoying  constant  and  rapid  railway  connec- 
tion with  his  base  at  Wadi  Haifa,  Sir  Herbert  Kitch- 
ener pushed  the  desert  railway  rapidly  forward,  and 
on  September  2,  1898,  out  on  the  slopes  of  the  Kerreri 
hills,  which  you  see  on  the  left,  he  fought  a decisive 
battle  with  the  dervishes,  who,  advancing  recklessly 
with  an  army  of  35,000  men,  were  met  by  a steady  fire 
from  modern  weapons,  which  killed  and  wounded 
over  25,000,  while  the  balance  were  half  of  them  taken 
prisoners.  The  bones  of  the  fallen  dervishes  still 
whiten  the  plain  out  by  those  hills.  Kitchener  entered 
the  town  on  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  when  the 
native  Egyptian  troops,  although  themselves  Moham- 
medans, blew  up  the  tomb  before  us,  and  thus  pre- 
vented it  from  becoming  a shrine  to  which  the  fanatical 
dervishes  were  beginning  to  make  annual  pilgrimages ; 


Position  99.  Maps  3,  20. 


346  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

for  such  pilgrimages  might  have  resulted  in  religious 
uprisings  like  that  of  the  once  potent  Mahdi. 

The  tomb  is,  you  see,  a low,  roofless  building,  with 
arched  windows,  surrounded  by  a court  with  an 
arched  door  on  the  right.  The  low  roof  on  the  right 
beyond  this  court  is  the  Mahdi’s  house,  over  which 
you  see  two  handball  courts  of  the  British  officers  of 
the  garrison.  The  entire  town,  which  the  Mahdi  had 
built  as  his  capital,  consists  of  crude  one-story  houses, 
built  of  sun-dried  brick.  Had  we  stood  where  we 
now  stand  before  Kitchener’s  capture  of  the  place 
our  lives  would  have  not  been  worth  a turn  of  the 
hand,  but  now  it  is  as  safe  as  the  streets,  of  your  own 
town,  and  the  Khalipha,  the  Mahdi’s  successor,  who 
might  have  made  further  trouble,  was  overtaken  in 
his  flight,  and  fell  with  the  few  followers  who  still 
clung  to  him.  The  place  under  the  Mahdists  was 
really  only  a large  and  permanent  military  camp, 
which,  after  the  Mahdi’s  death  in  1885,  was  for  four- 
teen years  the  residence  of  his  successor,  Abdullahi 
Taishi,  often  called  the  Khalipha,  which  means  repre- 
sentative or  successor.  This  bloodthirsty  fanatic  made 
the  place  the  scene  of  the  most  horrible  cruelties.  The 
Europeans  whom  he  held  as  captives  were  cruelly  im- 
prisoned or  slain,  except  when  the  Khalipha  had  need 
of  their  services.  Thus  the  German,  Neufeld,  was 
forced  to  build  parts  of  this  tomb  of  the  Mahdi,  which 
the  native  workmen  were  incapable  of  executing,  and 
the  Austrian,  Slatin,  now  Slatin  Pacha,  was  a slave 
and  body-servant  of  the  tyrant.  Both  these  men  es- 
caped, and  the  flight  of  the  latter,  which  he  narrates 
in  his  book,  “Fire  and  Sword  in  the  Sudan,”  is  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  feats  of  modem  times.  The  na- 
tives also  were  treated  by  the  Khalipha  with  monstrous 


Position  99.  Maps  3,  20. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


347. 


cruelty,  and  tortured  and  slain  at  the  slightest  provo- 
cation. The  place  of  execution  was  the  market  on 
our  left,  but  not  within  our  present  field  of  vision, 
and  near  there  is  a spot  now  called  the  “Tomb  of  the 
Martyrs,”  a pit  into  which  the  heads  and  limbs  of  the 
victims  were  cast. 

The  Khalipha  was  able  to  maintain  himself,  in 
spite  of  his  cruelty  and  tyranny,  by  the  support  of  his 
tribe,  the  Baggara,  who  were  powerful  and  numerous 
enough  to  hold  the  decimated  tribes  of  the  Sudan  in 
subjection,  and  save  the  Khalipha  from  an  otherwise 
inevitable  uprising,  which  would  have  cost  him  both 
his  rule  and  his  life.  He  transferred  the  whole  of  the 
Baggara  to  this  town  and  built  a strong  quarter  for 
them,  enclosed  by  a heavy  wall,  of  which  you  can  see 
one  side  from  here.  It  is  that  dark  line  of  wall  run- 
ning obliquely  across  our  field  of  vision,  from  the 
handball  courts  on  the  right,  toward  the  Kerreri  hills 
on  the  left.  There  the  Khalipha  took  care  so  to  favor 
the  Baggara,  that  they  should  always  remain  faithful 
to  him.  Thus  when  the  neglect  of  agriculture,  caused 
by  the  existing  misgovernment  and  the  annihilation  of 
whole  tribes,  brought  on  a frightful  famine,  the  Kha- 
lipha delivered  grain  to  the  Baggara  from  his  own 
magazines  at  the  abnormal  price  of  six  dollars  an  arteh, 
although  the  market  price  was  sixty  dollars  here  at 
Onidurman,  and  at  Kassala  it  even  reached  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  dollars  for  a time.  At  that  time 
people  flocked  to  this  place  by  thousands,  and  died 
here  in  myriads  like  flies ; for  all  the  lands  in  the 
vicinity  had  been  confiscated  by  the  Khalipha  and 
given  to  the  Baggara,  so  that  there  was  nothing  for 
the  newcomers  from  other  tribes.  Father  Ohrwalder, 
an  Austrian  priest,  who  had  been  seized  by  the  Mahdi 


Position  99.  Maps  3,  20. 


348  EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 

as  a prisoner,  while  engaged  in  missionary  work  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  revolt,  estimates,  as  he  said,  at 
that  time,  that  “upwards  of  three-fourths  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Sudan  has  been  destroyed  by  war,  fam- 
ine and  disease.”  But  in  spite  of  misrule,  this  town 
grew  until  it  now  has  accommodation  for  at  least 
100,000  people.  Its  population  is  at  present  an  inde- 
scribable mixture  of  the  lowest  African  and  Levan- 
tine elements,  and  the  market  which  was  once  the 
scene  of  such  atrocious  barbarities  is  now  an  animated 
scene  of  traffic  in  the  products  of  the  Sudan.  See 
Map  20  for  our  last  standpoint. 

Position  100.  Governor’s  palace  and  an  armored 
steamer  leaving  Khartum  for  Fashoda  and 
the  Blue  Kile 

There  is  no  point  at  the  new  Egyptian  capital  of  the 
Sudan,  where  a better  idea  of  the  life  and  character  of 
the  place  could  be  obtained  than  just  where  we  are 
now  standing.  If  you  will  look  carefully  at  the  little 
map  (No.  20),  you  will  see  that  we  have  taken  our 
Stand  on  the  north  side  of  the  Blue  Nile,  near  the 
Halfaya  railway  station,  which  is  the  terminus  of  the 
railroad  from  Wadi  Haifa,  576  miles  away.  We  look 
a little  south  of  westward  across  the  Blue  Nile,  and  the 
city  of  Khartum,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river. 
When  the*  place  fell  and  Gordon  was  slain,  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  Mahdi,  who  built  his  capital  at  Omdur- 
man,  which  we  have  already  seen.  From  here  Omdur- 
man  is  out  df  range  on  our  right.  That  long,  low 
island,  which  is  cut  in  two  by  the  smokestack  of  the 
further  steamer,  lies  close  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
island  of  Tuti,  opposite  the  lower  end  of  which  lies 
Omdurman,  on  the  other  side  of  the  White  Nile,  where 


Positions  99,  too.  Maps  3,  20. 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE  349 

the  two  rivers  join  to  form  the  united  stream,  the  Nile 
which  we  have  so  long  followed.  The  last  is  now  out 
of  sight  around  a bend  of  the  Blue  Nile  to  the  right; 
while  the  White  Nile  is  flowing  toward  our  right  yon- 
der behind  the  buildings  and  palms  of  Khartum,  and 
if  we  were  high  enough  we  could  plainly  see  it,  as  it 
hurries  to  join  the  Blue  Nile  by  the  island  of  Tuti,  of 
which  you  can  almost  see  the  upper  end  beyond  the 
second  steamer.  If  you  will  follow  the  topography  on 
the  map  (No.  20)  the  whole  situation  will  be  quite 
clear.  The  present  Khartum  which  we  see  on  the  other 
shore  is  therefore  a new  town,  the  work  of  the  British 
since  the  recovery  of  the  place  in  1898.  The  first  town 
was  founded  by  Mohammed  Ali  in  1823,  and  soon  be- 
came a flourishing  trade  centre  for  the  products  of  the 
Sudan.  Its  name,  Khartum,  meaning  “elephant’s 
trunk,”  is  derived  from  the  curved  point  of  land  be- 
tween the  two  Niles  at  their  junction,  which  was 
thought  to  resemble  an  elephant’s  trunk.  After  the 
destruction  by  the  followers  of  the  Mahdi  in  1885,  the 
town  lay  in  ruins  for  nearly  fourteen  years,  and  the 
present  restoration  by  the  British  is  a transformation, 
for  which  no  praise  is  too  high. 

At  the  left  of  this  first  smokestack  is  the  palace,  in 
which  the  governor  of  the  Sudan  lives.  It  is  built  on 
the  spot  where,  at  the  door  of  his  house,  Gordon  fell. 
The  smokestack  hides  a government  building,  in  which 
are  the  administrative  offices,  while  on  the  left  of  the 
palace  are  the  government  magazines  and  workshops. 
Quite  out  of  range  on  the  left  is  the  Gordon  Memorial 
College,  where  native  youths  are  educated  for  official 
positions.  There  is  an  excellent  hospital,  with  a labora- 
tory for  the  investigation  of  the  many  diseases  peculiar 
to  the  Sudan,  a post-office,  two  banks,  shops  controlled 


Position  100.  Maps  3,  20. 


350 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


by  the  government,  cleanly  and  hygienic  barracks  for 
British  and  native  troops,  and  a good  hotel.  These 
are  all  close  to  the  river  here,  and  the  native  town  is 
growing  up  behind  them  further  south.  From  here 
are  now  going  out  the  influences  that  must  redeem  the 
Sudan  after  the  awful  visitation  of  some  twenty  years 
of  Mahdist  misrule.  The  new  town  is  connected  with 
the  railway  terminus  on  this  side  by  a steam  ferry, 
and  you  see  the  winding  wake  trailing  in  a curve  from 
the  further  steamer,  which  is  one  of  the  ferry  boats 
just  landing  her  passengers  from  the  town. 

This  boat  nearest  us  is  taking  on  black  troops  for 
transport  to  Fashoda,  510  miles  further  up  the  White 
Nile.  It  will  presently  steam  down  this  short  stretch 
of  the  Blue  Nile  before  us,  and  then  turn  southward 
into  the  White  Nile  below  the  islands.  This  service 
involves  danger,  and  the  steamer  is  armored  for  its 
work.  Under  the  awning  of  the  upper  deck,  disclosed 
by  the  flapping  of  this  flag  on  the  bow,  you  see  a 
Maxim  gun,  {>eeping  out  from  under  its  canvas  cover. 
The  forward  windows  of  the  pilot  house  show  iron 
shutters,  which  may  be  closed  in  time  of  danger,  leav- 
ing only  a slit  through  which  not  only  to  see,  but  also 
to  thrust  the  deadly  magazine  rifle.  Out  in  the  stream 
on  the  extreme  left  are  two  more  military  transports, 
in  tow  by  a government  steamer ; these  have  already 
left  for  the  same  destination.  These  boats,  then, 
though  prepared  for  war,  are  messengers  of  civiliza- 
tion, penetrating  to  the  heart  of  Africa,  and  gradually 
bringing  the  vast  resources  of  the  dark  continent  into 
the  world  of  modem  commerce  and  industry. 

Possibly  the  adventurous  nobles  of  Elephantine, 
whose  tombs  we  visited  there,  had  already  penetrated 
in  their  trading  expeditions,  to  this  junction  of  the  two 


Position  100.  M^s  3,  tO- 


EGYPT  THROUGH  THE  STEREOSCOPE 


351 


rivers,  but  the  country  above  it  has  always  lain  in  com- 
plete darkness.  The  remotest  monuments  of  ancient 
Egypt  are  over  400  miles  below  us  here,  and  the  Pha- 
raohs never  dominated  the  country  on  either  side  of 
this  Blue  Nile. 

And  here  we  take  final  leave  of  this  remarkable 
river  and  the  valley  which  it  wrought,  as  a cradle  of 
early  civilization.  Civilization  has  always  moved  up 
river  valleys,  and  we  have  together  journeyed  in  the 
footprints  of  early  man  as  he  passed  up  this,  the  most 
interesting  valley,  in  the  orient,  where  any  remains  of 
early  man  are  found.  We  have  seen  his  traces  gradu- 
ally disapp>ear,  until  at  this  point  we  stand  on  the  verge 
of  the  great  uncivilized  heart  of  Africa,  from  which 
the  river  issues.  Equally  primitive  must  once  have 
been  the  life  of  the  men  of  the  lower  Nile,  and  as  we 
have  moved  up  the  river  we  have  thus  followed  the 
stream  of  civilization  from  its  later  and  more  developed 
phases,  to  its  modern  primitive  survivals  in  the  Sudan. 
Not  that  the  Sudan  is  the  source  of  Egyptian  civiliza- 
tion, but  it  is  to-day  in  much  the  same  material  condi- 
tion in  which  the  trading  nobles  of  Elephantine  must 
have  found  it  nearly  5,000  years  ago. 


Position  100.  Maps  3,  20. 


PUBLISHERS'  NOTE 


If  for  any  reason  it  seems  impracticable  to  take  this  entire 
tour  of  Egypt,  an  excellent  plan  is  to  take — 

(a)  The  first  51  positions,  going  through  Lower  Egypt, 
visiting  Cairo,  the  Pyramids  and  all  points  intermediate 
to  Thebes,  gaining  at  Thebes  a general  knowledge  of  the 
great  Theban  plain,  and  making  a detailed  study  of  one  of 
the  Theban  temples — the  Temple  of  Luxor.  (Nos.  1-51 
inclusive.) 

(b)  The  first  27  positions,  seeing  Lower  Egypt  and 
Cairo  and  making  a detailed  study  of  the  Pyramids.  (Nos. 
1-27  inclusive.) 

(c)  The  33  positions  at  Thebes,  seeing  all  the  most 

( magnificent  temple  remains  of  that  famous  city.  (Nos. 
' 47-79  inclusive.) 

Still  smaller  parts  of  the  entire  tour  that  may  be  taken  by 
themselves  are — 

(d)  The  12  positions  about  and  within  the  Pyramids. 
(Nos.  16-27  inclusive.) 

(e)  The  15  positions  in  Lower  Egypt  and  in  and  about 
the  streets  of  Cairo.  (Nos.  1-15  inclusive.) 

(f)  The  12  positions  in  and  around  the  Temple  of 
Karnak.  (Nos.  52-63  inclusive.) 

(g)  The  8 positions  at  Assuan,  Philae,  and  around  the 
First  Cataract  of  the  Nile.  (Nos.  84-91  inclusive.) 

(h)  The  4 positions  about  the  rock-hewn  Temple  of 
Abu  Simbel.  (Nos.  94-97  inclusive.) 

It  will  be  found  much  more  enjoyable  and  more  profitable 
to  take  some  such  definite  part  of  the  tour  and  follow  it  sys- 
tematically, rather  than  to  make  a selection  of  unconnected 
positions  all  over  the  country. 

In  any  case,  the  advantage  of  having  Professor  Breasted’s 
book,  with  the  patent  maps,  cannot  be  too  strongly  urged. 


INDEX  TO  STEREOGRAPHS  AND  BOOK* 


A 

Aahbotep,  286. 

Abdullahi  Taisbi,  346. 

Abrabam,  96,  98,  110,  180,  184,  186, 
299,  331,  343,  344. 

Absha,  180. 

Abu  Hammed,  43,  62,  344. 

Abu  Roasb,  25,  123. 

Abu  Simbel  (Plan  19),  95,  96, 

97,  52,  88,  330,  333,  334,  337, 
340,  342. 

Abusir,  139,  343. 

Abydos,  22,  51,  187,  197,  198,  227. 
Temple  of  Sethos  I,  43,  187. 
Hypostyle,  44,  191. 

Relief,  45,  194. 

Abyssinia,  18,  120,  169. 

.Aegean  Islands,  25,  27. 

Africa.  17,  49,  122. 

Agriculture,  20. 

Thresbing,  37,  169. 

Winnowing,  38,  171. 

Ahhotep,  Queen,  97. 

Abmesnofertari,  Queen.  286. 
Ahmosis,  27,  97. 

Grandson  of,  29. 

Albert  Nyanza,  18. 

Alexander  the  Great,  38,  45,  53,  54. 
110,  219. 

Alexandria,  1,  38,  39,  40,  42,  45,  51, 
52,  53,  54,  55,  66,  58,  322,  343. 
Museum,  39,  54. 

Pompey’s  Pillar,  1,  63,  64,  65. 
Allah,  78,  212. 

Amalric,  58. 

Amarna  Letters,  31,  32. 

Amenemhet  I,  154. 

II,  154,  281. 

III,  26,  143,  162,  163. 
Amenemhets,  26,  204. 

Amenmose,  179. 

Amenopbis  I,  267,  286. 

II,  241,  280,  329. 

III,  30,  209,  210,  212,  213,  214, 
219,  232,  234,  237,  239,  251, 
262,  261,  262,  280,  282,  317. 
Stela  of,  14,  99,  100. 

IV,  30.  31,  100,  227. 

Amon,  30,  36,  99.  100,  110,  190,  191, 
204,  209,  212,  217,  220,  226, 
228,  240,  241,  245,  249,  250, 
262,  288,  335. 

Amonite  Priests,  31,  34,  220. 

Amosis,  286. 

Amr  ibn  el-As,  40,  58,  69. 

Anuket,  320. 

Anubis.  266. 

Apbromte,  198. 


.Apollos,  93. 

Arabia,  17,  67,  110. 

Arabian  Desert,  119,  184,  221. 

Arabic  Language,  41. 

Arabi  Pacha,  42. 

Arabs,  21,  43,  131,  166,  172,  312. 
Architecture,  Saracen,  76. 

Aristotle,  175. 

Arsinoe,  174. 

Art,  48. 

Saracen,  73,  77,  85. 

.\shraf,  Sultan  El,  74. 

Asia,  17,  27,  29,  30,  32,  67,  204, 
245,  280. 

Asia  Minor,  31,  32,  297. 

.Assiut,  42,  26,  51,  121,  181,  182, 
184,  186,  197,  227,  278,  300, 
326. 

Tombs,  41,  181,  182,  203,  265. 
Assuan,  84,  19,  20,  62,  217,  308, 
309,  310,  314,  315,  318,  321, 
328. 

Dam,  91,  326. 

Granite  Quarry,  8T,  316,  318. 
Tomb  of  Harkhuf,  85,  310. 
Ashurbanipal,  36,  45. 

Assyria,  35.  36,  37,  110,  226. 
Assyrian  Invasion,  45,  206,  219. 
Assyrians,  36,  43,  237. 

Atbara,  18. 

Atlantic,  57,  119,  173. 

Aton,  30,  227. 

Augustus,  179,  198,  200,  205,  324, 
328,  329. 

Avaris  in  the  Delta,  27. 

B 

Babylon,  17,  58.  278. 

Babylonia,  30,  38. 

Bacchylides,  175. 

Baedeker,  Herr  Karl,  16. 

Bagdad,  40,  69. 

Baggara,  347. 

Bahri,  Sultans,  73. 

Bahr  Yusuf,  163. 

Bairam,  66.  79. 

Belzoni,  123. 

Barbarossa,  179. 

Barkuk,  Sultan,  73. 

Beduin,  24,  31,  32,  94. 

Beirut  (Berytus),  32. 

Benihasan,  51,  227. 

Tombs,  40,  176,  179,  285. 

Berlin  Museum,  154,  310. 

Bey,  Amin,  66. 

' Bey,  Emil  Brugsch,  286. 

Bibars,  Sultan,  80. 


* The  sterograph  numbers  are  given  in  heavy  type,  and  the  book 
pages  in  light  type. 


INDEX 


35  i 


Bible,  156. 

Translations  of,  41. 

Bigeh,  321,  322,  323,  326,  328. 
Bint-Anath,  334. 

Bite,  Land  of,  312. 

British  Museum,  167,  284. 

Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  115. 

Brugsch,  133. 

Bubastis,  35. 

Bulak,  87,  104,  286. 

Burded,  312. 

Bursbey,  Sultan,  73,  74. 

Buto,  194. 

Byzantine  Dominion,  40. 

Emperors,  46. 

c 

Caesar,  54. 

Caesar,  Tiberius,  198 
Cairo,  2,  3,  4,  5,  «,  7,  8,  9,  10, 
11,  12,  13,  14,  15,  29,  40, 
41,  51,  55,  66,  57,  58,  59,  60, 
61,  62,  64,  67,  68,  71,  74,  76, 
78,  84,  90,  94,  97,  99,  102, 
109,  111,  119,  121,  122,  137, 
146,  150,  158,  160,  181,  278, 
304,  326. 

Abdin  Palace,  2,  62. 

Bab  el-Azab,  2,  59,  60,  66. 

Bab  el-Wezir  Om,  3,  64,  65,  79. 
Bab  en-Nasr,  67. 

Gezireh  Palace  Hotel,  2,  15,  62, 
104. 

Hotel  Savoy,  2,  62. 

Hotel  Shepheard,  63. 

Holy  Carpet  Parade,  8,  78,  79. 
Mosques, 

El-Azhar,  62. 

Emir  Yusuf,  6,  73. 

Hasanen,  67,  79. 

Ibn-Tulun,  4,  70. 

Kait  Bey,  6,  7,  74  , 76. 
Mohammed  AH,  3,  64. 
Rifaiyeh,  2,  4,  61,  68. 

Sultan  el-Ashraf,  6,  74. 
Sultan  Barkuk,  6,  73. 

Sultan  Bursbey,  6,  73. 

Sultan  Hasan,  2,  60,  61,  62, 
76,  117. 

Museum,  2,  33,  5^  63,  86. 

Body  of  Sethos  I,  12,  94,  246 
283,  336. 

Jewelry  of  the  Pharaohs,  13, 
97. 

Shekh  El-Beled,  11,  90. 
Statue  of  King  Khafre,  10, 
87,  92,  93,  138,  260,  336. 
Stela  of  Amenophis  III,  14, 
99,  261. 

Nile  Bridge,  15,  102. 

“Old  Cairo,”  68. 

Place  Rumelah,  2,  60,  66,  78. 
Saladin’s  Citadel,  3,  66,  59,  64, 
65,  67,  68,  70,  73,  7^  86,  332. 
Tomb  of  Tarabai  esh-Sherif,  66. 
Caligula,  200. 

Cambyses,  38,  45. 

Candace,  Queen,  332. 


Carians,  37. 

Carmel,  32. 

Caviglia,  142. 

Champollion,  324,  333. 

Christianity,  40,  41,  46,  64,  77,  172, 
175,  306,  832. 

Christians,  40,  41,  77. 

Chronological  Table,  44. 

Circassian  Sultans,  73. 

Cleopatra,  39,  45,  65,  324. 

Cleopatra’s  Needle,  5S. 

Claudius,  200. 

Coliseum,  338. 

Constantine,  46. 

Constantinople,  40,  46,  64. 

Copts,  41. 

Crocodiiopolis,  39,  172,  173,  199. 
Crusaders,  64,  70,  75. 

Cushite  Kingdom,  36. 


D 

Dahabiyeh,  33,  168,  159, 

Damascus,  67. 

Danube,  325. 

Darius,  156. 

Dashur,  27,  144. 

David,  King,  94. 

Davis,  Theodore  M.,  280. 

Davison,  Mr.,  134. 

Decadence,  34,  45. 

Libyan,  36,  45. 

Nubian,  36,  45. 

Delta,  19,  20,  21,  23,  25,  27,  33,  34, 
35,  36,  37,  38,  43,  48,  51,  63, 
55,  56,  64,  105,  110,  119,  121, 
146,  155,  185,  205,  246,  298, 
306. 

Princes  of  the,  36,  38,  45. 

Denderah,  61.  197,  201,  212.  325. 

Temple  of  Hathor,  46,  197,  292, 
301,  326. 

Der  el-Bahri,  Temple  of  (Plan  14), 
70,  71,  206,  263,  268.  270, 
271,  274,  275,  277,  284,  287, 
289,  296,  316. 

Diocletian,  64. 

Dynasties, 

1st,  22,  24,  44,  98,  195. 

2d,  22,  44. 

3d,  22,  24,  44,  143,  147,  148, 

IfiO  910 

4th,  22,  23,  24,  44,  106. 

5th,  22,  24,  44,  148,  812. 

6th,  22,  23,  24,  25,  26,  44,  148, 
311,  316. 

7th,  25. 

8th,  25. 

9th,  25,  182,  203. 

10th,  25,  182,  203. 

11th,  25,  26,  44,  182,  203,  269, 
278. 

12th,  ‘26,  27,  44,  69,  99,  121,  154, 
161,  162,  163,  173,  176,  176, 
180,  181,  183,  203,  204,  208, 
221,  228. 

13tb,  27,  44. 


INDEX 


355 


Dynasties — {Continued). 

18th,  27,  28,  29,  32,  33,  34,  43, 
44,  99,  141,  154,  204,  207,  208, 
210,  221,  222,  223,  227,  230, 
232,  238,  239,  280,  283,  288, 
291,  292,  293,  307.  329,  331. 
19th,  32,  33,  34,  43,  44,  94,  189, 
204,  210,  221,  222,  223,  224, 
227,  232,  241,  243,  248,  281, 

285,  286,  288. 

20th,  33,  34,  44,  238,  281,  283, 

286,  288,  290. 

21st,  34,  35,  36,  45,  280,  284, 
287 

22d,  35,  45,  248. 

25th,  228. 

26th,  37,  38,  45,  339. 

27th,  38,  45. 

28th,  38. 

29th,  38. 

30th,  38. 

Eyyubid,  41. 

Ptolemaic,  39,  63. 

E 

Edfu  (Plan  16),  81,  52,  190,  197, 
223,  291,  300,  301,  308,  309. 
Temple  of  Horns,  81,  82,  83, 
301,  303,  306. 

Egypt. 

People  of,  17. 

Origin  of,  21. 

Story  of,  17. 

Elephantine  Island,  84,  86,  52,  308, 
309,  310,  312,  313,  318,  319, 
321,  350,  351. 

Kilometer  at,  86,  313. 

Empire.  The,  27,  34,  37,  44,  163,  193, 
198,  280,  299,  311. 

Art.  30,  90. 

Costumes,  30. 

Language,  30. 

Pastimes,  30. 

Religion,  30,  31. 

Political  Conditions,  28,  31. 
Social  Conditions,  29. 

England,  332. 

English,  43. 

Eos,  253. 

Esarhaddon,  45. 

Ethiopia,  188,  189,  205. 

Ethiopian  Eunuch,  332. 

Kingdom,  37,  228. 

Ethiopians,  36,  228. 

Etruscans,  297,  320. 

Eudoxus,  153. 

Euergetes  I,  219,  220. 

Euphrates  River,  28,  29,  30,  39,  40, 
145. 

X’alley,  17. 

Eyyubids,  41,  46. 

F 

Earag,  Sultan,  73. 

I-'ashoda.  348,  350. 

Fatimids,  40,  46,  69,  69.  70,  320. 
l ayum,  26,  27,  51,  121,  161,  162, 
172,  173.  182,  183. 


I'ostat,  68. 

France,  110. 

I'rench,  43,  46. 

G 

Callus,  Cornelius,  45. 

Geneva,  188. 

Lake,  326. 

Ciddeh,  81. 

Gizeh,  144,  147,  148,  162,  177,  188, 
203. 

Pyramids  of,  4,  16,  22,  23, 
24,  25,  27,  51.  57,  68.  70, 
87,  96,  102,  104,  146. 

Great  Pyramid,  17,  18,  10, 
26,  105,  108,  109,  111,  115, 
118,  120,  122,  125,  137,  139, 
147,  148,  150. 

Entrance  to,  23,  128. 
Interior  SM,  130. 

King’s  Chamber,  25.  132. 
Second  Pyramid,  21,  27,  122, 
140. 

Sphinx,  17,  26,  27,  89,  108, 
109.  137,  140,  316. 

Temple,  Granite.  26,  137. 
Glyptothek  at  Munich,  93. 

Gordon,  General,  42,  46,  345,  348, 
349. 

Gordon  Memorial  College,  349. 
Goshen,  33,  156. 

Ci'ranite  Temple,  26,  137. 

Greece,  23. 

Greek  Period,  38,  45,  53. 

Religion,  39. 

Temples,  39. 

Greeks.  37,  4.3,  109,  140,  163,  173, 
184,  211,  247,  309,  310 


H 

Hadrian,  253,  328. 

Halfaya,  348. 

Harkhuf,  311,  312. 

Harsomtous,  200. 

Harun  er-Rashid,  130. 

Hathor,  198,  199,  302,  342. 

Temple  of,  46,  197,  292,  301, 
326. 

Hatshepsut,  28,  140,  217,  239,  240, 
260. 

Hawara  Pyramid,  161,  183. 

Hebrews,  29,  32,  33,  35.  51,  78,  94 
98.  99,  101,  1.56,  157,  158,  172,' 
257,  267,  320. 

Hebrew  Occupation  of  Palestine,  32 
Heliopolis,  51,  58.  152,  163,  164,  155. 
238,  342. 

ObeIi.sk,  »1,  152,  154,  155,238, 
315. 

Sacred  School,  153. 

Hepzefi,  183,  184. 

Heracleopolis,  26,  182,  183,  186,203. 
Heracleopolitans,  25,  203. 

Herodotus,  109,  111,  322; 
Hierasykaminos,  331. 

Hir-Hor,  34. 


INDEX 


:j56 


History,  Ptriods  of, 

Predynastic,  21,  44. 

Old  Kingdom,  22,  44. 

Middle  Kingdom,  25,  44. 

The  Empire,  27,  44. 

The  Decadence,  24,  46. 

Libyan,  35,  45, 

Nubian,  36,  45. 

Restoration,  37,  46. 

Persian,  38,  45. 

Greek,  38,  45. 

Roman,  39,  45. 

Moslem,  40,  46. 

TiTrkish,  42. 

Hittites,  31,  32,  246. 

Holy  Carpet  Parade,  8,  78,  79. 
Holmes,  Oliver  Wtndell,  14. 

Homer,  175,  202,  204. 

Horus,  57,  302,  307,  334. 

Temple  of,  81,  82,  83,  301, 
303,  306. 

Hyksos,  27,  28,  44,  97,  204,  299. 

I 

Ibn  Tulun,  40,  68,  69. 

Ikhernofret,  188,  189. 

Ikhnaton,  30,  31,  100,  227. 

Iliad.  204. 

Illahun,  34,  27. 

Pyramid  of,  123,  161. 

Imhotep,  319. 

India,  54. 

Ineni,  239,  242,  280,  316. 

Isesi,  King,  312. 

Isis,  322,  325. 

Temple  of,  89,  90,  91,  38,  197, 
321,  323,  326,  328. 

Islam,  21,  41,  66,  77,  79,  332. 

Ismail  Pacha,  62,  105,  313. 

Isocrates,  175. 

Israel.  33,  99,  101,  248,  262. 

Itinerary,  47. 

J 

Jeroboam,  35. 

Jerusalem,  35,  69,  77,  99,  248,  249. 
Jesus,  175. 

Jews,  40.  77. 

Joseph,  153,  320. 

Josephus,  27. 

Josiah,  94. 

Judah,  94. 

Judea,  24. 

Justinian,  325. 

K 

El-Kab,  80,  62,  298,  299. 

Kadesh,  32,  217,  235,  269,  341. 

Kafr.  16,  106,  108,  120. 
el-Kahira,  59. 

Kait  Bey,  74,  75. 

Mjosque  of,  6,  7,  74,  76. 
Kalabsheh.  92,  52.  328,  329. 

Karnak  (Map  8,  Plans  11,  12),  201, 
203,  206,  206,  208,  213,  214, 
216,  217,  218,  219,  269,  263, 


Karnak — (Continued). 

269,  271,  280,  289,  293,  298. 
304,  315,  342. 

Temple  of  Amon  (Plan  12),  6S, 
53,  54,  55,  56,  57,  58,  59, 
60,  61,  62,  63,  35,  94,  103, 
153,  196,  205,  218,  220,  222, 
224,  226,  231,  233,  236,  239, 
242,  244,  246,  248,  307. 

Sacred  Lake,  58,  233,  235,  239, 
245. 

Kasr  Ibrim,  93,  52,  330. 

Kassala,  347. 

Keneh,  160. 

Mudir  of,  285. 

Kerreri  Hills,  99,  344,  345. 

Khafre,  107,  124,  125,  143,  336. 

Statue  of,  lO,  87,  92,  93,  138, 
260,  336. 

Khalipha,  346,  347. 

Khartum,  lOO,  18,  46,  52,  81,  344, 
345,  348,  349. 

Khedive,  286. 

Khefren,  107. 

Kheops,  107. 

Khnumhotep,  180,  181. 

Khnum,  319,  320. 

Khons,  220. 

Khufu,  107,  108,  109,  111,  125,  128, 
130,  133,  136,  179,  317. 

Pyramid  of,  see  Pyramids. 

Kbufu-onekk,  112. 

Kisweh,  Procession  of,  78. 

Kitchener,  Lord  Herbert,  42,  344, 
345,  346. 

Koran,  58,  67,  72,  79,  85,  300. 

Kum  el-Aswad,  121. 

Kurna  Temple,  206,  275,  290,  292. 

Kush  (Ethiopa),  188. 

L 

Lagus,  53. 

Lane,  80,  85. 

Language,  Origin  of,  21. 

Lebanon,  24,  32. 

Lepsius,  161. 

Libya,  206. 

Libyan  Invasion,  33. 

Libyans,  21,  34.  43,  45,  101,  246, 
252,  293,  298. 

London  Obelisk,  153. 

Loret,  280. 

Luxor  (Map  8),  47,  758,  201,  202, 
203,  205,  206,  207,  218,  219, 
220,  222,  227,  232,  234,  237, 
251,  258,  274,  341. 

Temple  (Mao  8,  Plan  10),  48, 
49,  50,  51,  207,  211,  218, 
215,  235. 

Obelisk,  51,  215,  217,  316. 

Lycopolis,  John  of,  184. 

M 

Machiavellian  Politics,  31. 

Mahdi,  42,  46,  62,  343,  345,  346,  347, 
348,  349. 

Defeat  of,  43. 


INDEX 


357 


Mabtnal,  16,  It,  80,  81,  82. 

Makers,  Quce>,  339,  240,  200,  268, 
269,  2Vr,  271,  272,  280,  316, 
(see  also  Hatshepsut). 

Mamlukes,  40,  41,  42,  46,  60,  65,  70, 
73,  74,  86,  142,  332. 

«1-Mamun,  Caliph,  130,  183. 

Manetbo,  21. 

Map  System,  12,  60. 

Use  of,  47. 

Map  No.  1—17,  28,  63. 

No.  2—18,  24,  26,  28,  32,  36. 

No.  3 — 23,  26,  26,  28,  30,  36,  37, 
61,  55,  155,  166,  157,  176,  181, 
184,  187,  197,  201,  344. 

No.  4—66,  66,  68,  63,  67,  69,  71, 
73,  102,  104,  108,  118,  119, 
144,  146,  147,  160,  152. 

No.  6—26,  26,  107,  108,  109, 

111,  115,  118,  122,  123,  124, 

126,  128,  136,  277,  278,  298, 

300,  308,  308,  328,  329,  330, 

331,  333,  342,  343. 

No.  6—26,  27,  161,  162,  172. 

No.  8 — 201,  202,  203,  206,  207, 
218,  218,  220,  261,  254,  258, 
261,  263,  274,  275,  277,  278, 
279,  289,  292. 

No.  9—206,  261,  261,  263,  268, 
274,  276,  279,  284,  287,  288, 
289  292. 

No.  17 — 808,  310,  312,  318,  320, 
328,  326,  327. 

No.  20 — 344,  348,  349. 

Mariette,  87,  94,  138,  142,  160,  189, 
302. 

Masara  Quarries,  SO,  151. 

Maspero,  142. 

Mastabas,  112,  113,  114,  177. 

of  Khufu’s  lords,  32,  126,  126. 

of  Zoser,  30,  147. 

Mecca,  60,  76,  77,  78,  79,  80,  81,  82. 

Mecca-Kaaba,  79,  81. 

Mechanics,  49. 

Medina,  77. 

Medinet  Habu,  08,  77,  78,  70,  190, 
206,  263,  276,  287,  288,  289, 

290,  291,  294,  296,  298. 

Mediterranean,  24,  38,  62,  66,  119, 
122,  279,  297. 

Medum,  148,  149,  162. 

Mekhu,  312. 

Memnon,  263. 

Memnon  Statues,  47,  64,  67,  202, 
206,  261,  267,  260,  261,  269, 

271,  276,  276,  281. 

Memphis,  23,  25,  26,  36,  51,  57,  109, 
111,  119,  122,  137,  144,  146, 
147,  148,  149,  162,  168,  163, 
173,  174,  927,  311,  341,  342. 

Cemetery,  30,  147. 

Statue  of  Ramses  II,  38,  144. 

Mena  House  Hotel,  108,  143. 

Menes,  21,  44,  196. 

Menkewre,  167. 

Mcnmare,  193. 

Meatuhoteps,  269. 


Merneptah,  99,  101,  193,  251,  252, 
262. 

Mernere,  King,  133. 

Meroe,  37. 

Mesopotamia,  22,  69. 

Middle  Kingdom,  23,  27,  28,  29,  83, 
44,  51,  162,  176,  177,  181,  198, 
300,  313,  343. 

Art,  26. 

Medicine,  26. 

Monarchs  of,  26. 

Pyramids,  27. 

Science,  26. 

Social  Conditions,  26. 

Temples,  27. 

Writing,  26. 

Misr,  68,  69,  68,  69. 

Moeris,  26,  162. 

Mohammed,  40,  53,  68,  77,  78,  110, 
300. 

Ali,  42,  46,  54,  65,  73,  332,  349. 
Ahmed,  42,  332. 
Mohammedanism,  332. 

Mohammedans,  345. 

Montu,  203, 

Moses,  78. 

Moslem  Period,  40,  46,  65. 

' Art,  41. 

Language,  41. 

Moslems,  46,  69,  77,  78,  79,  80,  81, 
82,  109,  121,  142,  166,  212, 
219,  332. 

Muezuns,  70,  77. 
el  Muizz,  59. 

Munich,  93. 

Mut,  220. 

Mycenae,  30,  146. 

Mykerinos,  107. 

N 

Nahum,  206. 

Napata,  30,  37, 

Napoleon,  42,  110,  178,  261,  300. 
Naukratis,  37,  146. 

Naville,  166,  157,  269,  270. 
Nebet-towe,  334. 

Nebuchadrezzar,  38. 

Negm  ed-Din,  79. 

Nekhab,  299. 

Nektanebos,  38,  324. 

Neos  Dionysos,  302. 

Nero,  200,  263. 

Neufeld,  346. 

Newberry,  Mr.,  289. 

New  Testament,  175,  332. 

New  York  Obelisk,  153. 

Nile  River,  20,  S.T,  72,  73,  81,  89, 
90,  91,  92,  93,  94,  90,  98, 
18,  19,  21,  28,  39,  48,  62,  66, 
66,  67,  86,  102,  103,  120,  121, 
147,  168,  169,  167,  173,  187, 
201,  202,  208,  227,  258,  260, 
261,  274,  277,  279,  286,  298, 
300,  301,  319,  320,  321,  323, 
326.  326,  328,  331,  333,  349. 
Blue  Nile,  lOO,  18,  36,  345,  348, 
349,  350,  361. 


358 


INDEX 


Nile  River — (Continued). 

White  Nile,  18,  345,  348,  349, 
350. 

Damietta  Mouth,  19. 

Rosetta  Mouth,  19. 

Second  Cataract,  98,  342. 

Nile  Valley,  2SO,  11,  12,  13,  17,  19, 
26.  27,  36,  43,  48,  49,  53,  57, 
107,  118,  119,  122,  162,  198, 
268. 

Geography  and  Oimate  of,  17, 
18,  20. 

Nilometer,  86,  313,  314. 

Nineveh,  205,  226. 

No-Amon,  205. 

Nofretere,  334. 

Notre  Dame  Cathedral,  235. 

Nubia,  26,  28,  30,  52,  204,  216,  278, 
286,  310,  312,  315,  318,  319, 
328,  329,  330,  332,  342,  343, 
344. 

Nubians,  25,  36,  43,  45,  145,  315, 
316,  318,  331,  336. 

O 

Ohrwalder,  Father,  347. 

Old  Kingdom,  22,  23,  27,  28,  37,  44, 
51,  124,  143,  162,  164,  177, 
182,  193,  198,  200,  204,  311, 
316,  318. 

Art,  23,  89,  92. 

Civilization,  21,  22. 

Classes  of  people,  23. 

Fall  of,  25,  44. 

Literature,  23. 

Pyramids  of,  25,  26. 

Religion,  23. 

Old  Testament,  27,  33,  101,  153,  177, 
180,  248,  249,  309. 

Omar,  40,  58. 

Omdurman,  52,  344,  347,  348. 

Tomb  of  Mahdi,  09,  344. 

On  (Heliopolis),  153. 

Opet,  Southern,  203,  204. 

Opet  of  the  Thrones,  203,  204. 
Clrontes,  217. 

Osiris,  188,  189,  190,  191,  196,  256, 

259,  266,  335,  340,  341. 
Osorkons,  35. 

P 

Palestine,  24,  27,  28.  29,  30,  31,  32, 
33,  34,  35,  37,  74,  94.  101, 
184,  244,  248,  249,  297. 
Papyrus,  39. 

Paris.  National  Library,  196,  244. 

Obelisk,  217. 

Parohu,  273. 

Pelusium,  38,  45. 

Pcpi  II,  311. 

Perrot,  Chas.,  92. 

Persia.  38,  75,  226. 

Persian  Period,  38,  45. 

Persians.  43,  45  110,  166,  219,  237. 
Petrie,  Prof.,  98,  132,  135,  146,  163, 

260,  262. 

Pharaohs,  17,  22,  23,  24,  27,  32.  38, 
39,  40,  41,  53,  57,  69,  86.  103, 
106,  110,  123,  128,  145,  152, 


166,  173,  182,  196,  203,  204, 
207,  208,  227,  257,  285,  286, 
290,  295,  298,  299,  302,  304, 
311,  317,  322,  324,  329,  331, 
332,  344,  351. 

Philadeipbus,  174. 

Philae  (Plan  18).  89,  90,  52,  122, 
162,  291,  318,  320,  321,  322, 

323,  326,  328. 

Temple  of  Isis,  89,  90,  91,  38, 
197,  321,  323,  320,  328. 
Philistines,  297.  ' 

Phoenicia,  27,  32,  98. 

Physcon,  324. 

Piankhi,  36. 

Pithom,  51,  156,  157. 

Store-charal^rs,  32,  156,  175. 
Plato,  153. 

Political  Conditions,  22. 

Pompey’s  Pillar,  1,  53,  64,  65. 
Pompey,  Tomb  of,  54. 

Predynastic  Kingdoms,  21,  44. 

Introduction  of  Calendar,  44. 
Psamtik  (Psammetichos),  37. 

Psamtik  II,  339. 

Ill,  38. 

Ptah,  341. 

Ptolemy  I,  39.  45,  63. 

Ill,  301. 

IX,  324. 

Ptolemies,  39,  53,  142,  150,  173,  198, 
222,  223,  243,  302,  304,  319, 

324,  331,  339. 

Punt,  28,  272,  273,  274,  312. 

Put,  205. 

Pyramids, 

Gizeh,  4,  16,  22,  23,  24,  25, 
27,  51,  57,  68,  69,  70,  87,  96, 
102,  104,  146. 

Great  Pyramid,  17,  18,  19, 
26,  105,  108,  109,  111,  115, 
118,  120,  122,  126,  137,  139, 
147,  148,  150. 

Entrance  to,  23,  128. 
Interior,  JM,  ISO. 

King’s  Chamber,  25,  132. 
Second  Pyramid,  21,  27,  122. 
140. 

Hawara,  161,  183. 

Illahun,  .34,  123,  161. 

Sakkara,  29,  147,  148,  319. 

R 

Ramadan,  Fast  of,  66. 

Ramesseum  (Temple  of  Ramses  II)- 
(Maps  8 and  9,  Plan  13),  47, 
65,  66,  67,  206,  251,  254, 
258,  261,  262,  263,  264,  269, 
274,  276,  282,  287,  317,  340, 
341. 

Cx>Iossus  of  Ramses  II,  66,  258, 
282. 

Ramessids,  34,  238,  283. 

Ramses  I,  44,  281,  287,  288. 

II.  29,  32,  33,  34,  44,  88,  94, 
101,  142,  156,  16T,  173,  190, 
194,  210,  212,  216,  217,  224, 
226,  236,  246,  247,  251,  264,- 


INDEX 


359 


Ramses — (Continued). 

257,  258,  259,  260,  285,  287, 
288,  317,  334,  335,  339,  340, 
341. 

Statue  of  38,  144,  146,  228, 
334,  336. 

III,  33,  34.  35,  44,  153,  220,  290, 
291,  292,  293,  294,  297,  298, 
307. 

IV,  238. 

VI,  2.38,  281. 

IX,  284. 

XI,  281. 

XII,  34,  281. 

Re,  30,  193,  245. 

Red  Sea,  17,  20,  24,  25,  27,  57,  81, 
119,  155,  184,  221,  270,  271, 
272,  312. 

Re-Harmachis,  341. 

Rehoboam,  228,  249. 

Restoration,  37,  45. 

Naval  Power,  37. 

Roman  Emjjerors,  40. 

Roman  Empire,  40,  46,  331. 

Roman  Period,  39,  45. 

Architecture,  39. 

Art,  39. 

Romans,  43,  58,  142,  205,  225,  237, 
252  331 

Rome,  39,’  lio',  144,  145,  198,  219, 
226,  241,  338. 


S 

Sebni,  312. 

Sahara,  21,  18,  19,  20,  57,  105,  119, 
122,  162,  172,  181,  184,  279, 
309. 

Said  Pacha,  65. 

Sais,  37. 

Saites,  37. 

Sakieh,  36,  168. 

Sakkara,  25,  27,  126,  133,  147. 

Pyramid,  20,  147,  148,  319. 
Saladin,  29,  40,  41,  46,  64,  75,  79, 
332. 

Citadel,  3,  56,  59,  64,  65,  67, 
68,  70,  75,  78,  86,  332. 

Sappho.  Poems  of,  175. 

Sardinians,  297. 

Satet,  320. 

Satrap,  45. 

Sebek,  173. 

Sehel,  Island  of,  88,  318,  332. 
Seine,  326. 

Semites,  21,  27,  33. 

Sen-nofer,  265,  266,  277,  289. 

Tomb  of,  69,  265,  266,  277,  289. 
Senwosret,  153. 

Septimius  Severus,  262. 

Serapeum,  150. 

Serapis,  160. 

Temple  of,  64. 

Service  des  Antiquites,  137,  166,  229. 
Sesostris  I,  163,  154,  238. 

Ill,  26,  32,  188. 

Sesostrises,  26,  33. 

Set,  67. 


Sethos  I.  32,  44.  65.  94,  95.  100,  101, 
146,  189,  190,  191,  194,  195, 
246,  248,  281,  285,  287,  288, 
289 

Body  of.  12,  94,  189,  194,  246, 
283  336 

Mortuary  Temple  of,  76,  287. 
Tomb  of  74,  75,  282. 

Sethos  II.  224. 

Shaduf,  36,  167. 

Sharuhen,  27. 

Shawwal,  66. 

Sheeer  ed-Durr.  79. 

Shekh  Abd  el-Kurna,  263. 

Shellal,  328. 

Shems  ed-Din,  332. 

Sheshonk,  35.  248,  249. 

Sheshonks,  35. 

Silsileh,  278. 

Sinai  Peninsula,  20,  24. 

Sisatet,  188,  189. 

Slatin,  Pacha,  346. 

Snofru,  24,  148,  162. 

Soane’s  Museum,  283. 

Sohag,  185. 

Sohagiyeh,  185. 

Solomon,  228,  248.  249,  272. 

Somali  Coast,  24,  28,  270,  272. 
Sphinx,  17,  26.  27,  89.  108,  109, 
137,  140,  316. 

Stereographs,  12. 

Selection  of,  15. 

Use  of,  47. 

Stereoscope.  47,  50. 

Sudan.  18,  25,  43.  46,  62,  81,  310, 
311,  344,  345,  347,  348,  349, 
360,  351. 

Rebellion,  42. 

Suez,  81. 

Canal,  155,  156. 

Gulf.  25. 

Isthmus,  28,  74. 

Syria,  27,  28.  29,  31,  32,  33,  37,  40, 
42,  69,  157,  189,  216,  217,  235, 
244,  245,  246,  267. 

T 

Takelots,  35. 

Talmis,  329. 

Tanis,  34,  157,  260,  317. 

Tanutamon,  36. 

Tenea,  93. 

Tell  el-Amarna,  30,  31. 

Tell  el-Kebir,  42,  46,  110. 

Tewosret,  Queen,  262. 

Theban  Princes,  26,  27. 

Thebes  (Maps  8 and  9),  25,  26,  28, 
29.  30,  32,  33,  34,  36,  44,  45, 
51,  52,  96,  100,  110,  121,  122. 
144,  152,  157,  166,  167,  173, 
181,  182,  203,  205,  278. 

Plain  of,  47,  66,  67,  68,  73, 
201,  202,  258,  261,  263,  277. 
Karnak  (Map  8,  Plan  11  and 
12).  201,  203,  205,  206,  208, 
213,  214,  216,  217,  218,  219, 
259,  273,  269,  271,  280,  289, 
293,  298,  304,  316,  342. 


INDEX 


3C)0 


Thebes — (Continued). 

Temple  of  Amon  (Plan  12), 
62,  63,  64,  66,  66,  67, 
68,  68,  60,  61,  62,  63, 
36,  94,  103,  153,  196,  205, 
218,  220,  222,  224,  226, 
231,  233,  236,  239,  242, 
244,  246,  248,  307. 

Sacred  Lake,  68,  233,  235, 
239  246 

Luxor  (Map  8),  47,  72,  201, 
202,  203,  206,  206,  207,  218, 
219,  220,  222,  227,  232,  234, 
237,  251,  268,  274,  341. 
Temple  (Map  8,  Plan  10), 
48,  49,  60,  61,  207,  211, 
213,  215,  235. 

Obelisk,  61,  215,  217,  315. 
Medinet  Habu,  68,  77,  78, 
78,  190,  206,  263,  275,  287, 

288,  289,  290,  291,  294,  295, 
298. 

Memnon  Statues,  47,  64,  67, 
202,  206,  251,  257,  260,  261, 
269,  271,  276,  276,  281. 
Mortuary  Temple  of  Sethos  I, 
76,  287. 

Kamesseum  (Temple  of  Ram- 
ses II)  (Maps  8 and  9, 
Plan  13),  47,  66,  66,  67, 
206  261,  254,  258,  261,  262, 
263,  264,  269,  274,  276,  282, 
287,  317,  340,  341. 

Colossus  of  Ramses  II,  66, 
258,  282. 

Temple  of  Der  el-Babri 
(Maps  8 and  9,  Plan  14), 
70,  71,  206,  263,  268,  270, 
271,  274,  275,  277,  284,  287, 

289,  296,  816. 

Temple  of  Kurna,  206,  275, 

290,  292. 

Tomb  of  Prince  Sen-nofer, 
69,  266,  266,  277,  289. 
Valley  of  the  King’s  Tombs, 
74,  279. 

Tomb  of  Sethos  I,  74,  75, 
282 

Theodosius  I,  40,  46,  306,  326. 
Tbinis,  44. 


Threshing  in  Modern  Egypt,  1$7,  169. 
Thutmosis  I,  28,  103,  223,  230,  232. 
236,  238,  239,  240,  243,  264, 
280,  316. 

II,  271. 

III,  29,  30,  32,  33.  196,  212,  240, 
241,  243,  244,  245,  248,  271, 
276,  276,  281. 

IV,  141,  241,  262,  280. 

Tiberius  Caesar,  198,  200,  324. 

Tigris  Valley,  17. 

Tigro-Euphrates  Valley,  31. 

Trojan  War,  253. 

Tulunids,  46. 

Turin,  337. 

Turkey,  42. 

Turkish  Period,  42,  46. 

British  Rule,  43. 

Prosperity,  43. 

Title  of  Khedive,  42. 

Turks,  42,  43,  110. 

Turra  Quarries,  151. 

Tuti,  348,  349. 

Tuye,  334. 

U 

Una,  24. 

Usermare-Setepnere,  335. 

V 

Valley  of  the  King’s  Tombs,  74,  279. 

Tomb  of  Sethos  I,  75,  282. 
Victoria  Nyanza,  18. 

Vyse,  Col.  Howard,  134. 

W 

Wadi  Haifa,  42,  62,  343,  344,  846, 
348 

Wadi  Tumilat,  156. 

Wilson,  Gen.  Sir  Charles,  345. 
Winnowing  Grain,  38,  171. 

Y 

YusuL  Bahr,  163. 

Yusuf,  Mosque  of  Emir,  6,  73. 

Z 

Zoser,  King,  147,  148,  149,  160,  319, 
320. 


THE  TRAVEL  LESSONS 


ON  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS 

AND 

ON  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT 

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THE  UNDERWOOD  STEREOGRAPHS 


Millions  of  dollars  have  beeii  spent  in  the  last  decade  for  photo- 
graphs and  illustrations  of  one  kind  or  another,  and  yet  only  recently 
has  the  importance  of  the  one  great  fundamental  difference  in  illus- 
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based  on  the  principle  of  two-eye  vision  and  photographs  based  on 
the  principle  of  one-eye  vision,  or  the  difference  between  stereo- 
scopic and  all  other  kinds  of  photographs.  Not  many  years  ago 
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(two-eye)  phenomena  is  a closed  world,  to  most,  even  intelligent, 
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regarded  as  a toy.  The  use  that  was  made  of  it,  except  by  a limited 
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Sir  Charles  Wheatstone.” 

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generally  a recognition  of  tremendous  fields  of  usefulness  for  the 
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mands, not  only  have  Underwood  & Underwood  sent  stereoscopic 
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Chicago  University,  on  Egypt;  Dr.  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut,  on  Palestine; 
Dr.  D.  J.  Ellison  and  Dr.  James  C.  Egbert,  Jr.,  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, on  Italy,  etc.  This  new  movement  is  already  world-wide. 
A leader  in  the  Philippines  writes; 

“Your  views  are  beyond  praise;  but  that  is  not  as  significant  to 
n>e  as  the  fact  that,  for  the  first  time,  you  have  grasped  the  possibili- 
ties of  the  invention  as  a cultural  factor  in  our  modern  life.” 

Rev.  Richard  Burgess,  General  Secretary  India  S.  S.  Union,  says: 

"The  lantern  slide,  map,  object,  curio,  etc.,  have  their  special  ad- 
vantajTOS  as  educators,  but  these  stereographs,  combined  with  the  unique 


system  of  patent  maps  giving  the  sense  of  location  and  direction  looking 
together  with  the  well-written  guide-books,  are  capable,  in  my  judg- 
ment, of  becoming,  to  one  who  uses  them  thoughtfully,  not  a substitute 
for  travel  merely,  but  travel  itself  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term.” 

In  this  country  and  England  hundreds  of  educators  urge  the  use 
of  the  stereoscope.  Dr.  Winship,  Editor  of  The  Journal  of  Educa- 
tion, declares: 

"It  is  as  absurd  to  study  history  or  geography  without  adequate  first- 
hand experience  of  seeing  places,  things  and  people  with  the  lifelike 
realism  of  the  stereoscope,  as  to  study  natural  sciences  without  a labor- 
atory. Sense  experience  should  be  the  foundation  stone  of  mind- 
building." 

George  J.  Smith,  Ph.D.,  Board  of  School  Examiners,  New  York, 
states : 

"In  late  years  there  has  been  perfected  something  that,  in  my 
judgment,  goes  ahead  of  ordinary  pictures,  and  quenches  the  mind’s 
thirst  for  the  concrete  almost  as  completely  as  the  very  object  before 
the  bodily  sight.  I refer  to  the  stereograph.  Even  the  best  pictures 
we  still  feel  to  be  but  pictures;  they  do  not  create  the  illusions  of 
reality,  solidity,  depth.  ‘The  best  in  this  kind  are  but  shadows.’  But 
with  the  stereoscope  the  wonder  of  photography  is  brought  to  its 
culmination.’’ 

Jaques  W.  Redway,  Fellow  of  the  R.  G.  S.,  says : 

"It  is  evident  that  whole  classes  may  use  stereoscopic  photographs 
in  the  ordinary  work  of  demonstration,  or  the  pupil  may  study  them  in 
his  individual  field  work,  indoors  as  well  as  out  of  doors.  In  the  study 
of  foreign  countries  and  their  people,  there  are  great  opportunities. 
And,  indeed,  in  the  use  of  the  stereoscope  and  stereoscopic  photograph 
there  is  an  entirely  new  field  to  be  opened.  It  is  a field  that  hitherto  has 
been  closed  to  both  teacher  and  pupil,  and  to  both  there  are  possibilities 
of  study  and  research  that  are  little  dreamed  of.  In  my  own  studies 
they  have  been  a revelation.’’ 

It  might  give  some  further  idea  of  the  place  sitereoscopic  photog- 
raphy is  taking  to-day  to  say  that  the  one  photographer  uivited  to 
accompany  President  McKinley  and  afterward  President  Roosevelt, 
on  all  their  more  important  journeys,  is  a stereoscopic  photographer, 
Mr.  H.  A.  Strohmeyer,  vice-president  of  Underwood  & Underwood ; 
and,  further,  the  most  celebrated  war  photographer  in  the  field  to- 
day, whose  work  with  the  Japanese  army  at  Port  Arthur  is  world- 
famous,  is  a stereoscopic  photographer.  Prof.  James  Ricalton,  also 
of  Underwood  & Underwood’s  staff. 

Probably  it  should  be  stated  here  that  stereographs  differ  vastly 
in  their  quality,  reliability  and  in  the  helps  that  accompany  them.  It 
should  not  be  expected  that  the  results  spoken  of  above  could  be 
gotten  from'  the  inferior  stereographs  so  commonly  put  on  the 
market. 

Drop  a postal  card  for  further  information  to 

UNDERWOOD  & UNDERWOOD 


UNDERWOOD 
Stereoscopic  Tours 


The  Underwood  Stereoscopic  Tours  are  put  up  in  neat  Volume  Cases,  or 

Underwood  Extension  Cabinets,  and  the  stereographed  places  are  arranged  in 

the  order  in  which  a tourist  might  visit  the  actual  scenes. 

Note  that  these  are  all  Original  Stereographs,  not  copies. 

To  accompany  these  Tours  we  recommend  our  ‘‘Twentieth  Century"  Aluminum 

Mahogany  Stereoscope.  A higher-priced  stereoscope  can  be  furnished  if  desired. 

CH1N.\  TOUR.— Giving  100  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  358  pages,  in  cloth, 
by  James  Ricalton,  eight  patent  maps  and  case. 

Boxer  Uprising  Tour. — Cheefoo,  Taku,  Tientsin — (a  part  of  the  China  Tour) 
— ^Giving  26  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  three  patent  maps  and  case. 

Hongkong  and  Canton  Tour  (a  part  of  the  China  Tour) — Giving  15  stand- 
points, with  guide  book,  three  patent  maps  and  case. 

Pekin  Tour  (a  part  of  the  China  Tour) — Giving  32  standpoints,  with  guide 
book,  two  patent  maps  and  case. 

EGYPT  TOUR. — (iiving  100  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  360  pages,  in  cloth, 
by  James  H.  Breasted,  Ph.D.,  twenty  patent  maps  and  case. 

GRAND  CANYON  OF  ARIZONA  TOUR.  — Giving  18  standpoints,  with  guide 
book,  two  patent  maps  and  case. 

ITALY  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  602  pages,  in  cloth, 
by  D.  J.  Ellison,  D.D.,  ten  patent  maps  and  case. 

Rome  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Italy  Tour) — Giving  46  standpoints,  with  (piide 
book,  310  pages,  in  cloth,  by  D.  J.  Ellison,  D.D.,  five  patent  maps  and  case. 

NIAGARA  FALLS  TOUR. — Giving  18  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  two  patent 
maps  and  case. 

PALESTINE  TOUR.  — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  220  pages,  in 
cloth,  by  Jesse  L.  Hurlbut,  D.D.,  seven  patent  maps  and  case. 

Jerusalem  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Palestine  Tour) — Giving  27  standpoints,  with 
guide  book,  patent  map  and  case. 

PILGRIMAGE  TO  SEE  THE  HOLY  FATHER  TOUR.  —Giving  26  standpoints, 
with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of  stereographs,  guide  book,  71  pages,  in 
cloth,  patent  map  and  case. 

PRESIDENT  M’KINLEY  TOUR  No.  5. — Giving  60  standpoints,  with  guide  book. 
183  pages,  in  cloth,  and  leatherette  case. 

PRESIDENT  M’KINLEY  TOUR  No.  2.— Giving  24  standpoints,  with  case. 

PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT  TOUR.— Giving  36  standpoints,  with  case. 


REAL  CHILDREN  IN  MANY  LANDS  TOUR.  -Caving  18  ktaadpointa,  with 
guide  book,  222  pages,  in  cloth,  by  M.  S.  Emery,  and  case. 

RUSSIA  TOUR. — Giving  lOP  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  216  pages,  in  cloth, 
by  M.  S.  Emery,  ten  patent  maps  and  case. 

Moscow  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Russia  Tour) — Giving  27  standpoints,  with 
guide  book,  three  patent  maps  and  case. 

SL  Petersburg  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Russia  Tour) — Giving  39  standpoints, 
with  guide  book,  live  patent  maps  and  case. 

ST.  PIERRE  AND  MT.  PELEE  TOUR. — 'Giving  18  standpoints,  with  guide  book, 
by  George  Kennan,  patent  maps  and  case. 

SWITZERLAND  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  274  pages,  in 
cloth,  by  M.  S.  Emery,  eleven  patent  maps  and  case. 

Bernese  Alps  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Switzerland  Tour)— ^Giving  27  standpoints, 
with  guide  book,  three  patent  maps  and  case. 

Engadine  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Switzerland  Tour)— Giving  8 standpoints, 
with  guide  book,  four  patent  maps  and  case. 

Lake  Lucerne  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Switzerland  Tour) — Giving  11  stand* 
points,  with  guide  book,  three  patent  maps  and  case. 

Mont  Blanc  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Switzerland  Tour) — Giving  23  standpoints, 
with  guide  book,  two  patent  maps  and  case. 

Zermatt  Tour  (a  part  of  the  Switzerland  Tour) — ^Giving  16  standpoints,  with 
guide  book,  two  patent  maps  and  case. 

TRIP  AROUND  THE  WORLD  TOUR. — Giving  72  standpoints,  with  explanatory 
notes  on  backs  of  stereographs,  guide  book,  56  pages,  map  and  case. 

UNITED  STATES  TOUR.  — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  explanatory  notes  on 
backs  of  stereographs,  guide  book,  72  pages,  four  patent  maps  and  case. 

WASHINGTON  TOUR. — Giving  36  standpoints,  and  6 standpoints  in  environs, 
with  guide  book,  178  pages,  in  cloth,  by  Rufus  Rockwell  Wilson,  four 
patent  maps  and  case. 

WORLD’S  FAIR  TOUR  (Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition) — Giving  55  stand- 
points, with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of  stereographs,  with  guide  book, 
patent  map  and  case, 

YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK  TOUR — Giving  30  standpoints,  with  ex- 
planatory notes  on  back  of  stereographs,  with  guide  book,  patent  map  and 
case. 

YOSEMITE  VALLEY  TOUR. — Giving  24  standpoints,  with  guide  book,  by  Chas. 
Q.  Turner,  patent  map  and  case. 

The  following  “Tours”  are  not,  as  yet,  provided  with  special  maps  and  guide 

book,  but  the  full,  descriptive  titles  given  to  identify  each  outlook  will  be  found 

of  great  practical  assistance  in  studying  the  countries  in  question; 

AUSTRIA  TOUR. — Giving  84  standpoints,  with  case. 

BELGIUM  TOUR. — Giving  24  standpoints,  with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of 
stereographs,  with  case. 

BRITISH  BOER  WAR  TOUR. — Giving  72  standpoints,  with  case. 

CEYLON  TOUR. — Giving  30  standpoints,  with  case. 


CUBA  AND  PORTO  RICO  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case* 
DENMARK  TOUR. — Giving  36  standpoints,  with  case. 

ENGLAND  TOUR.— Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

FRANCE  TOUR. — Giving  72  standpoints,  with  case. 

GERMANY  TOUR.  — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

GREECE  TOUR.— Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

HOLLAND  TOUR — giving  24  standpoints,  with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of 
stereographs,  with  case. 

INDIA  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of 
stereographs,  with  case. 

IRELAND  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of 
stereographs,  with  case. 

JAPAN  TOUR.  -Giving  100  standpoints,  with  explanatory  notes  on  backs  of 
stereographs,  with  case. 

KORE.A  TOUR. — Giving  48  standpoints,  with  case. 

MANCHURIA  TOUR. — Giving  36  standpoints,  with  case. 

MEXICO  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

NORWAY  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

PHILIPPINES  TOUR. —Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

PORTUGAL  TOUR. — Giving  60  standpoints,  with  case. 

PRINCE  HENRY  TOUR. — Giving  24  standpoints,  with  case. 

RUSSO-JAPANESE  WAR  TOUR.  — ^Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 
SCOTLAND  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

SPAIN  TOUR. —Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

SWEDEN  TOUR. — Giving  100  standpoints,  with  case. 

Other  interesting  and  instruetive  tours  can  be  made  up  from  the  large  collec- 
tion of  original  stereographs  always  in  stock,  or  from  new  stereographs  which 
are  constantly  being  added. 

We  advise  our  customers  to  purchase  complete  tours  on  the  countries  they  may 
be  interested  in.  One  hundred  stereographed  places  of  one  country  will  generally 
give  much  better  satisfaction  than  the  same  number  scattered  over  several  coun- 
tries. Many  of  our  patrons  are  placing  all  of  our  educational  tours  in  their 
homes  alongside  of  the  standard  works  on  those  countries.  Schools  and  public 
libraries  are  turning  more  and  more  to  the  stereoscope  to  put  their  students  and 
readers  in  touch  with  the  actual  places  of  which  they  are  studying.  The  United 
States  Government  considered  them  so  valua,ble  that  all  educational  tours  pub- 
lished to  date,  with  the  new  Underwood  Extension  Cabinet,  were  purchased  for 
the  United  States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 

When  two  or  more  of  the  “100”  tours  are  wanted,  we  recommend  the  “Under- 
wood Extension  Cabinet.”  It  can  be  “built  up”  from  time  to  time,  as  desired, 
bolding  from  200  to  2,000  stereographed  places,  or  more. 

UNDERWOOD  & UNDERWOOD 

3-5  West  19th  Street,  Comer  Fifth  Avenue,  New  Yoii< 

LONDON,  ENGLAND.  TORONTO,  CANADA. 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CALIFORNIA.  OTTAWA,  KANSAS. 


Date  Due 

>"ACUl  Tv 

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